Charity Dinner and Auction Held Prior to the Checker Auto Parts 500
Where: Scottsdale, AZ — NASCAR Nextel Cup driver of the #12 Alltel Dodge Ryan Newman will be holding a fundraising dinner and auction presented by Alltel in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Friday, November 11, 2005 to benefit his charitable foundation. The inaugural Ryan Newman Foundation charity dinner and auction will be held on the Friday prior to the Checker Auto Parts 500 at the Phoenix International Speedway.
Ryan and Krissie Newman established the Ryan Newman Foundation in January 2005. The mission of the foundation is to educate and encourage people to spay/neuter their pets and to adopt dogs and cats from animal shelters; to educate children and adults about the importance of conservation so the beauty of the great outdoors can be appreciated by future generations; and to provide college scholarship funding through the Rich Vogler Scholarship program to students interested in auto racing careers.

Ryan Newman states, “We wanted to hold our first big charity event in Phoenix because the fans here are huge NASCAR supporters. Krissie and I wanted to keep the dinner small—to about 250 guests—so we have any opportunity to meet everyone and personally thank them for supporting the work of our foundation.”

The inaugural Ryan Newman Foundation charity dinner and auction will be held on the Friday prior to the Checker Auto Parts 500 at the Phoenix International Speedway. The evening will feature live jazz entertainment, Land Rover rides, and a K9 demonstration from the Sheriff’s Department.

The charity dinner will also feature an auction that will include items such as a Richard Petty Driving Experience, Sony 40″ Bravia HDTV, autographed Mia Hamm jersey, autographed Peyton Manning mini-helmet, and an autographed Ryan Newman Raybestos Rookie of the Year print to name a few.

A percentage of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Arizona Animal Welfare League and the Maricopa County Animal Care & Control’s Adoption Center. Tickets are available to the public. For more information or to purchase a ticket to the charity dinner, visit www.ryannewmanfoundation.org.

The most recent project of the Ryan Newman Foundation was Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. Newman’s wife, Krissie, led a group from the foundation to Gulfport, MS where they delivered 38,000 lbs. of pet food donated by Purina to families with pets who were victims of the hurricane. The group also helped volunteers from Project HALO at the Humane Society of South Miss. who were rescuing pets. After a week volunteering in Gulfport and New Orleans, the group returned to Charlotte, NC with 30 homeless dogs who were adopted after being spayed and neutered.