DANVILLE, VA. – VIRginia International Raceway joined forces with Racing2SaveLives and raised a total of $20,000 donated to local charities. As part of the AMA Big Kahuna Suzuki Superbike Nationals, VIRginia International Raceway hosted a charity event that raised $20,000 for local and national charities. As a prelude to the AMA races, VIR donated the use of its racetrack and staff to Racing2SaveLives, the organization which staged training sessions for motorcycle riders. Riders donated money to receive training on their motorcycles at VIR’s South Course, gaining track time experience and ride with some of AMA’s star road racers. Racing 2 Save Lives raises funds supporting children’s charities while giving riders an inexpensive opportunity to gain track time at tracks across the country. VIR was able to direct one-half of the $20,000 raised to two local charities: $5,000 to the Halifax-Charlotte County Red Cross chapter, and $5,000 to the Virginia Make-A-Wish Foundation. The remaining $10,000 went to the Ethan Gillim Foundation and the Glycogen Storage Disease Foundation. “We are always actively looking for ways to support local charities, and it is a basic VIR philosophy to give back to the community,” said VIR’s managing partner Connie Nyholm. “We are very pleased we were able to combine a great track day and support these important charities at the same time.” Racing 2 Save Lives is a fairly new charity organization, made up of motorcycle riders who make donations enabling them to ride on race tracks under close supervision and with instruction from expert riders. AMA star racers donate time to allow lucky fans a day of one-on-one instruction and riding, with Eric Bostrom, Jessica Zaluski and Jason DiSalvo among them. Ralph Forsythe, R2SL founding member and Operations Director, described the organization: “We started this thing in 2004, just a few racers that wanted to get together and give something back to the community. We started out at a little track near Denver Colorado, named Second Creek and I think we had maybe 70 people show up for an entire week of riding. Word of mouth caught on and we’ve been going ever since. Last year was at PPIR and then Miller Motorsports Park after that. “We’ve just been getting bigger and better every year and raising more and more money for charity. We support children’s charities. For this event here, we supported Halifax Red Cross, Make-A-Wish in Virginian, the Ethan Gillim Foundation and the Glycogen Storage Disease Foundation.” Ginger P Weaver of the Halifax-Charlotte County Chapter, American Red Cross, commented: “VIR has given so much back to the community and this is just another example of their generosity.” Lyn M. Benson, of Make-A-Wish added: “this will help meet one of our 134 pending wishes.” Make-A-Wish Foundation has been granting wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions since 1980 through its work with children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and entire communities. Since its founding, the Make-A-Wish organization has grown to become a worldwide organization, reaching more than 144,000 children around the world. Although one of the world’s best-known charities, the Make-A-Wish Foundation remains faithful to its grassroots origins with more than 25,000 volunteers. These volunteers network their efforts, enabling Make-A-Wish to serve children with life-threatening medical conditions. Volunteers serve as wish granters, fundraisers, special events assistants and in numerous other capacities. For information on the track and other event schedules, call 434-822-7700 or check our web site at www.virclub.com.