Victory Junction Season Preview: 2009 Promises Exciting Growth of Children's Camp

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Media Contact:

Crystal Emerick

Victory Junction

(336) 495-2079 (office)

(704) 361-5230 (mobile)

cemerick@victoryjunction.org





Victory Junction Season Preview

2009 Promises Exciting Growth of Children's Camp



RANDLEMAN, N.C. - Feb. 9, 2009 - As the start to the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesTM season nears, Victory Junction also is gearing up for a busy year with several key initiatives on the docket. Chief among the objectives are a ceremonial groundbreaking at the new facility in the Midwest, celebrating Victory Junction's five-year anniversary and continuing the commitment to deliver once-in-a-lifetime experiences to children with serious medical conditions.



Victory Junction is a year-round medical facility, co-founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty, to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses with absolutely no cost passed on to the families.  The camp operates solely through the support of generous donors to provide life-changing experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering.



Since first opening in June 2004, Victory Junction has played host to more than 10,000 campers and families from 47 states and three countries.



Midwest Camp

Victory Junction will officially place its stake in the ground this year for a second medical camping facility to be built on 71 acres in Kansas City, Kan.  To assist in the fundraising process, key officials from the area have been assembled to support this initiative, including former Kansas Governor Bill Graves; Kansas City Mayor Joe Reardon; president of Kansas Speedway, Jeff Boerger; and chief executive officer of Burns & McDonnell Engineering, Greg Graves. Since the site selection was announced in September 2008, the resulting capital campaigning efforts in the Midwest have raised approximately $4 million in contributions and in-kind donations.



A ceremonial groundbreaking at the new facility is slated for Wednesday, May 13.



Five-Year Anniversary

To honor the camp's fifth anniversary, Victory Junction will utilize a commemorative logo throughout the year featuring the tagline, "Five Years of Smiles." With the main objectives of increasing awareness of the camp and its mission as well as positioning the organization for long-term growth, the camp also will launch a new Web site in February that will provide timely information, easy-to-navigate pages, interactive elements, particularly for campers and their families, and much more.



In addition, the annual holiday party and open house scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, will serve as "Victory Junction's Five-Year Celebration." Beginning at 10 a.m. ET, campers and their families will have a private reunion on site.  At 1 p.m. ET, Victory Junction will open its doors to the community and camp supporters for guided tours of the facility and a day of fun and fellowship. More details will be available on www.victoryjunction.org in the coming months.



Committed to the Mission

Since Victory Junction served its first camper in 2004, the mission has been clear - to deliver unparalleled, fun experiences for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses in a medically-safe environment.  That mission continues this year with nine summer sessions and 17 family weekends, including the introduction of two pilot programs.



The first pilot program is a partnership with the Brenner Children's Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., to kick start the Brenner FIT (Families In Training) Program. Brenner FIT is a comprehensive, holistic, family-centered program that treats overweight and obese children. Brenner FIT will use Victory Junction's 'fun' as a motivator and trigger to begin their program in a weekend camping session slated for April 3-5. Learning and healing also will begin this weekend as the Brenner FIT experts begin to teach these children and their families the program foundations: behavior change, family involvement, sound nutrition, physical activity and family-centered care.  Families will continue in group programs for the next nine months. For more information, please visit www.brennerchildrens.org/brennerfit.



Victory Junction is partnering with Fort Bragg, home of the XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, US Army Special Operations Command and the US Army "Golden Knights" Parachute Team, to host children and their families who have lost a parent or loved one in the line of duty. Aiming to enrich the lives of these children, this special weekend is scheduled for April 17-19 and will focus on fun and friendship as each child takes steps toward healing.



Fundraising also remains a key priority to continue the camp's mission without passing any costs on to the families. Several key events already highlight the coming calendar year:

1.       The Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2009. Since the Ride's inception, nearly 7,500 riders have traveled 7.90 million cumulative motorcycle miles and donated more than $12 million to Victory Junction and other charities that support chronically-ill children. This year's ride will kick off on May 8 in the state of Washington and culminates at Victory Junction on May 17.  For more information, please visit www.kylepettycharityride.com.

2.      NASCAR Day is an industry-wide fan-focused fundraiser scheduled for Friday, May 15. The NASCAR Foundation will feature Kyle Petty and Victory Junction in its 2009 NASCAR Day commercial and a portion of proceeds raised through the campaign will benefit camp. A $5 donation truly can make a difference. For more information, please visit www.NASCAR.com/NASCARDay.



NASCAR fans and other camp supporters can visit www.victoryjunction.org to find additional information on fundraising events, monetary or in-kind donations and volunteer opportunities.



About Victory Junction

Victory Junction is a year-round camping environment for children ages six to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son Adam, the camp is located in Randleman, N.C. with a second location opening soon in Kansas City, Kan. Victory Junction offers programs for 24 disease groups and maintains strong relationships with 26 partner hospitals. Victory Junction's mission is to provide life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. As a not-for-profit organization, the camp operates solely through the support of generous donors to provide this experience at no charge to children and their families. For more information, visit www.victoryjunction.org.

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