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PORSCHE®
SLATES 2001 50-STATE DRIVE FOR HOPE FOR OCT. 18 Incorporates
New York Firefighters Fund Into Charitable Focus ATLANTA,
October 3, 2001 --- Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) today announced
the delayed start of The Porsche 50-State Drive For Hope will
begin on Thursday, Oct. 18 in Honolulu. The record-setting challenge
to benefit The Hope Foundation, one of the nation PCNA
also announced it will donate twenty percent of all proceeds
raised from the 2001 Porsche 50-State Drive for Hope to the New
York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund, a disaster relief
effort established by the International Association of Fire Fighters.
The donation will go directly to the families of both the fallen
New York fire fighters and EMS personnel. “We are very saddened by the unthinkable events that occurred last month and want to do our part to support the relief efforts,” said Fred Schwab, PCNA president and CEO. “Porsche also remains committed to helping The Hope Foundation raise the level of awareness and support for cancer research. The 2001 50-State Drive for Hope will allow communities across the U.S. to show support for those affected by cancer as well as the survivors and victims’ families of the national attacks.” Yahoo!,
a leading global communications, commerce and media company,
has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the 50-State Drive
for Hope and will provide online marketing support for the event.
In addition, Yahoo!
Auctions will
serve as the official auction site for the 50-state drive. The
auction will launch Oct. 8, and items on the block will include
one of the 2001 Porsche 911 Turbos used in the event, a Drive
for Hope special edition Gibson Custom Edition Les Paul guitar
and other Porsche memorabilia. The event
will begin in Honolulu on Oct. 18, 2001. After the initial drive,
the three all-wheel drive Porsche 911 Turbos will be loaded onto
a cargo jet where official transportation partner, Pacific Air
Cargo, will fly the sports cars to Los Angeles to continue the
nine-day, around-the-clock adventure. Yahoo! will also equip
each car involved in the record-setting challenge with eLink
service Fortified with Yahoo! from Motient Corporation on RIM
Wireless Handheldsä from Research in Motion (RIM). These
capabilities will allow driving teams to communicate in real
time with supporters everywhere they travel using Yahoo! Messenger
and Yahoo! Mail. Those wanting to follow the event daily can
visit www.driveforhope.org
“Porsche and The Hope Foundation have created a unique event that promises to raise community awareness and support across the U.S. for cancer research as well as the survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks,” said Rich Godwin, senior brand manager, Yahoo! Inc. “Yahoo! is proud to join Porsche in the fight against cancer and help aid the victims’ families of the Sept. 11th tragedy.” As the
official transactions partner of the 50-State Drive for Hope,
iBill (Internet Billing Company), the global leader in online
transaction processing, will provide the technology necessary
to accept online donations directly through The Hope Foundation
Web site. iBill will also promote the event through its own Web
site, recently named by Forbes Magazine as the “5th Most Visited B-2-B Site on the Web.” Throughout
the record-setting event, each 911 Turbo will travel on Continental®
ContiSportContact 2™ tires provided by Charlotte-based Continental Tire North America Inc., which is a group company of Germany-based Continental AG. Exclusive
sponsors of the 2001 Drive for Hope include Amgen, AstraZeneca,
Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CitiCorp, Eli Lilly, Gibson, Hyatt,
Ortho Biotech and Roche. Each has pledged $1 per mile for every
mile driven by the team. Also
participating in the event is Porsche Club of America (PCA).
With more than 45,000 members, PCA is the world’s largest club dedicated to a single brand of car. Five club members will be taking the wheel during the marathon drive. Established
in 1992, The Hope Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, supports
the increasing financial and awareness needs for the cancer research
and trials of the Southwest Oncology Group. As a result of continually
decreasing funds available from the federal government, the role
of The Hope Foundation has and will become even more vital to
the longevity and success of clinical cancer research. The mission
of The Hope Foundation is to bring greater financial resources
and awareness to the Southwest Oncology Group's efforts. The
Foundation's vision is to continue efforts to support the prevention,
treatment and eventual cure of all cancer.
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