During the NASCAR Chicago Street Race weekend, Urban Youth Racing School (UYRS), a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, announced a new pilot program with Mercy Home to help inspire learning through the world of motorsports. Mercy Home COO Joe Wronka represented our participation during a July 5th press conference at Venue Six 10 overlooking the racecourse in Chicago’s Grant Park.
The goal of the program is to help provide Chicago’s youth with unique educational opportunities, including classroom and hands-on experiences in racing, engineering, and technology. By leveraging the dynamic environment of motorsports, UYRS seeks to cultivate interest and skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields among young people, particularly those from underserved communities.
Together, UYRS and Mercy Home will provide young people with mentorship, proven educational program elements of UYRS, and hands-on training, including opportunities to learn about and drive hi-level Go Karts.
“We are thrilled to be in Chicago to announce our pilot program in collaboration with Mercy Home for Boys,” said Anthony Martin, Founder, The Urban Youth Racing School. “At UYRS our mission is to inspire and educate the next generation through the exciting world of motorsports. By exposing students to STEM concepts within this dynamic field, we aim to ignite their passion for learning and innovation. This partnership represents a significant step forward in our efforts to expand our program, empower youth and provide them with the tools they need to succeed in both the classroom and beyond.”
Wronka expressed gratitude on behalf of Mercy Home. “We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Urban Youth Racing School to offer our young people unique learning experiences in technology,” Wronka said. “The exposure that this program will provide will open avenues to STEM careers that many of our youth may never have envisioned otherwise. It’s creative partnerships like this one that open up possibilities for our young people and enable us to give them the tools they need to grow into self-reliant and successful adults.”
The announcement event featured special guests, including motorsports industry leaders from longtime UYRS school partners and supporters of over 20 years with Chevrolet and NASCAR coming together to celebrate this exciting new initiative.
Chicago Street Race, NASCAR President Julie Giese said, “Community engagement is the foundation of everything we do, so the NASCAR Chicago Street Race is proud to support the Urban Youth Racing School’s pilot program with Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.” She added, “As our industry unites in Chicago this weekend, we look forward to future growth of the Urban Youth Racing School’s impact in Chicago.”
Chicago Street Race, NASCAR President Julie Giese said, “Community engagement is the foundation of everything we do, so the NASCAR Chicago Street Race is proud to support the Urban Youth Racing School’s pilot program with Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.” She added, “As our industry unites in Chicago this weekend, we look forward to future growth of the Urban Youth Racing School’s impact in Chicago.”
Director of Chevy Motorsports Marketing Todd Christensen said “We love the Urban Youth Racing School because it uses motorsports as an exciting platform to teach practical applications of STEM to young students. The combination of learning in the classroom and applying those learnings to karting on the track is a great way to inspire students.” Christensen concluded, “Chevrolet is proud to have been a part of this effort for over 20 years and excited about the pilot program in collaboration with the Mercy Home for Boys.”
Participating in the panel during the announcement were Andrew Marin (UYRS), Michelle Martin (UYRS), Joe Wronka (Mercy Home), Todd Christensen (Chevy Motorsports Marketing), and Brandon Thompson (NASCAR), while Julie Giese (NASCAR Chicago Street Race) was on hand at the event to support the announcement.
In the lead up to the announcement, Wronka sat down to talk about Mercy Home with WGN radio host Dane Neal. You can listen to that interview in full here.
