Porsche Increases ‘Racing for Charity’ Donation to Nearly $1M

Photo: Porsche

Porsche has increased the initial donation of its ‘Racing for Charity’ campaign to nearly $1 million USD, with the German manufacturer announcing Wednesday a €911,000 ($987,064) payout from its efforts in last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A total of €549,750 ($595,573) was originally to be donated based on its three factory Porsche 963s combining to complete 733 laps.

However, Porsche has pledged additional funds, with the associations Kinderherzen retten and Interplast Germany e.V. each set to receive €350,000 to help children from developing and crisis regions who suffer from heart disease, injuries, deformities or burns.

The remaining €211,000 will go to the Ferry Porsche Foundation, which was launched in 2018 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Porsche brand.

“Porsche has always faced up to its social responsibilities as a company. Now, with the ‘Racing for Charity’ initiative, we’ve successfully implemented this maxim in motorsport for the first time,” said Michael Steiner, member of the executive board of Porsche AG, research and development.

“To put even more emphasis on our commitment, we have increased the original donation amount of 549,750 euros to 911,000 euros.

“We’re certain that our support for the three charitable initiatives Kinderherzen retten e.V., Interplast Germany e.V. and Ferry Porsche Foundation once again underlines the fact that motorsport and people are a central part of our DNA.

“At Porsche, social responsibility doesn’t stop at the factory gates. It goes far beyond that.”

“Many thanks to Porsche for initiating the ‘Racing for Charity’ campaign,” said Professor Friedhelm Beyersdorf, founder of Kinderherzen retten e. V. “It’s a great honor that our initiative has been selected for this project. Above all, it’s fantastic for the children!

“We’ll use the money to bring children with heart defects or coronary diseases from underdeveloped countries to Freiburg. There, with just one operation, we will ensure that each child can lead a completely normal life and return to their home country.

“Afterwards, the kids will be as healthy as if they had never had heart problems to begin with. We not only treat existing heart diseases; we cure them completely. The donation thus directly benefits the quality of life of affected children and their families.”

“A huge thank you from our side as well to everyone who participated in the ‘Racing for Charity’ campaign,” said Professor Jürgen Hermann Dolderer, board member of Interplast Germany e. V. “We provide plastic and reconstructive surgery to children and young people from crisis regions and developing countries.

“These are mostly congenital malformations, burns or deformities of the soft tissues that cannot be treated in such countries due to a lack of expertise and medical facilities.

“Our goal is to significantly improve the quality of life of children and adolescents. They’ll be able to go to school and start an education – in other words, simply survive.

“With our teams, we operate on around 100 children over 14 days during our missions to the respective regions. In addition, we train local surgeons and thus help them to help themselves and their communities.”

“We are delighted that the Ferry Porsche Foundation has been included as a donation recipient for the ‘Racing for Charity’ campaign,” said Dr. Sebastian Rudolph, Chairman of the Board of the Ferry Porsche Foundation.

“Through our work at the Ferry Porsche Foundation, we’ve already been able to support over 400 projects and organizations in their charitable endeavors. As a foundation, we are particularly concerned about children and young people.

“With the donation from Porsche AG, we will support seriously ill children and their families, thereby making their lives a little more enjoyable.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John