ASU's College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation at the Downtown campus is getting support from an unusual donor.
Since August, NASCAR driver Kyle Petty's charity has been organizing the Victory Invitational Celebrity Golf Tournament, which takes place Thursday. Proceeds will go to the nursing school and Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp, which provides a camp experience to critically ill children.
"A lot of people are probably wondering what we have in common," said Bernadette Melnyk, dean of the nursing school, about the partnership.
Melnyk said that, while it might seem odd for her college and NASCAR to be working together, there are actually many common interests between the Victory Junction charity and the nursing school.
"We are actively involved in initiatives to improve health in children and teenagers," Melnyk said.
Though the golf tournament takes place Thursday at the Kierland Golf Club, an opening red carpet celebration at Myst in Scottsdale kicked off the event Wednesday night. Local sports celebrities like Arizona Cardinal head coach Ken Whisenhunt and former Phoenix Sun star Dan Majerle will play in the tournament along with NASCAR drivers including Juan Pablo Montoya, Kenny Wallace, Reed Sorenson and Elliott Sadler.
"To put their celebrity behind an event of this magnitude has gotten a lot of attention in the racing world to support a great cause," said Paul Corliss, director of communications at Phoenix International Raceway.
Corliss said the collaboration between the college of nursing and Petty started through Petty's friendship with Raceway President Bryan Sperber, who also sits on the board of the ASU Foundation. The common philosophy of the nursing college and Petty's organization, plus Arizona's good weather and many golf courses, made ASU a natural partner for Petty.
Corliss said Petty plans on making the tournament an annual event.
"This is not going to be a one-time deal," Corliss said. "Kyle's really kind of dedicated his driving career to expanding his platform."
Petty's interest in children's health came after his son's death in a racing accident, Corliss said. Since then, Petty has created the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., which "works with young people at getting them well," Corliss said.
The goal of the camp is mirrored by the Center for Improving Health Outcomes in Children, Teens and Families at the ASU nursing school, Melnyk said.
Instead of simply observing in their research, Melnyk said the center works on "interventions" or programs that actively improve children's health.
"We as a college are putting intense time and energy to develop and test interventions," Melnyk said.
Center director Bonnie Gance-Cleveland said the research takes a "cutting-edge approach" and deals with a variety of health-care problems.
Some current projects include childhood obesity prevention, working with the parents of terminally ill children and helping teens whose parents have substance-abuse problems.
"[Petty is] just really dedicated to trying to make things better for children with health-care issues," Gance-Cleveland said. "We're really grateful for their generosity."
Reach the reporter at: claudia.koerner@asu.edu.
