Partnership Will Distribute Free Trees to Texas Residents Affected by Hurricane Harvey
HOUSTON, October 30, 2018 – The NASCAR Green Race for Trees Campaign – a sustainability partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation, NASCAR, Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas A&M AgriLife and Harris County Master Gardener Association - will distribute 500 new trees this year to homeowners in Houston.
Texas residents can come out to Hermann Park on Arbor Day, Saturday, November 3, from 9 a.m. until noon, where the NASCAR Green Race for Trees Campaign will be distributing free trees in order to replace those that were damaged and destroyed in the area by Hurricane Harvey.
"We're excited to be joining the Arbor Day Foundation once again along with our partner's Hotels for Hope and Safety Kleen to help people negatively affected by Hurricane Harvey," said Catherine Kummer, Senior Director, Green Innovation, NASCAR. "Over the past five years NASCAR has worked with Arbor Day Foundation to support local communities devastated by natural disasters and we are hopeful this effort helps bring some normalcy and comfort back to the residents in Houston."
Hurricane Harvey was a category 4 storm that hit Texas on August 25, 2017, and caused $125 billion in damage, according to the National Hurricane Center. Harvey made landfall three times in six days and at its peak, on September 1, 2017, one-third of Houston was underwater. In the first 24 hours, two feet of rain fell and flooding forced 39,000 people out of their homes and into shelters while more than 200,000 homes were damaged during the storm.
"The people of Texas have suffered great personal and physical loss," said Dan Lambe, Arbor Day Foundation President. "By replanting, we strive to bring healing and hope to the people and the communities in which they live as well as help return the beauty and the value trees bring back to their properties."
In order to help these communities, the Arbor Day Foundation has their Community Tree Recovery program, a national program underwritten by FedEx and foundation members, which aims to replace trees in communities affected by natural disasters throughout the United States. The program has held more than 775 events, distributing more than 5 million trees since its inception in 2012.
To donate to the recovery efforts supported by this campaign or others across the country please visit www.arborday.org/recovery.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters, and valued partners. Their vision is to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, climate change, deforestation, poverty and hunger. As one of the world's largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat ('NASCAR').
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