PPG automotive refinish joins effort to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Ray Evernham, seated on the "Charity Chopper," and Dave Perewitz have teamed with PPG automotive refinish in a major fund-raising effort for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

April 14, 2005 - PPG automotive refinish, Ray Evernham of Evernham Motorsports and Dave Perewitz of Perewitz Cycle Fabrications have launched a major fund-raising effort for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by creating and auctioning a custom-built "chopper" motorcycle featuring Vibrance Collection brand custom finishes by PPG.

Tomorrow, Evernham will announce the "Charity Chopper" program to NASCAR media at the Texas Motor Speedway. The program was featured through the week on "NASCAR Nation" on cable television's The Speed Channel as well, showing the building of the motorcycle, footage of Evernham and Perewitz and a live interview with Evernham.

Evernham – chief executive officer of NASCAR team Evernham Motorsports and founder of the Racing for a Reason Foundation – is national chairperson of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual Light The Night Walk to raise awareness of blood cancers and funds for cures. In 1992, Evernham's son Ray J was diagnosed with leukemia at just under a year old. Today, Ray J is a healthy teenager.

"When we needed help, the society was there for us with information and support," Evernham said. "I want to do all I can to give back. We need everyone's help if we're going to beat cancer."

The Charity Chopper will tour custom car and motorcycle shows as well as NASCAR events throughout the country with the Vibrance Collection brand 85-foot show truck. In October the motorcycle will be auctioned on eBay with all proceeds benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Beginning this month until the Charity Chopper is auctioned in October, PPG, Perewitz and Evernham will sponsor monthly eBay auctions to benefit the society that feature high-profile collectible items. The PPG refinish team has already raised more than $32,000 for the society by auctioning items such as racing paraphernalia, posters, body shop equipment and supplies during the PPG Platinum Distributor conference last month in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., with 63 chapters in the United States and additional branches in Canada – is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing support and information to patients, their caregivers and health-care professionals.

For more information on the Charity Chopper and the monthly auctions, visit the PPG Refinish or Evernham Motorsports websites. 

For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.lls.org or call the society’s Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572.