One of the driving forces behind the annual Gift of Lights event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) is the opportunities that attendees have to give back to the community. The New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCCNH) and the Loudon Food Pantry each benefitted from the generosity of those who attended Gift of Lights presented by Ambetter and Wellcare during the holiday season. Nearly $34,000 was raised for SCCNH and nearly 2,000 meals were provided for those served by the Loudon Food Pantry.

SCCNH, which raises money for children in need throughout New England, received a portion of each vehicle’s admission, s’more kit purchases and fun run/walk registrations for a total of $33,755.50, making this one of the largest SCCNH fundraisers annually. The funds raised will be combined with proceeds from other 2024 SCCNH events and be distributed through grants to local nonprofits in December. As the official charity of the speedway, SCCNH has raised more than $451,000 from Gift of Lights since 2011 and has distributed more than $2.25 million supporting more than 1.4 million children throughout the region since 2009.

“The generosity of those who attend the Gift of Lights each year is truly amazing,” said Speedway Children’s Charities New Hampshire Chapter Director Danielle Cyr. “This always gets our year of fundraising off to a strong start, and we look forward to raising even more funds throughout 2024 to help as many local kids in need as possible.”

Gift of Lights visitors received discounted admission on week nights when they brought at least three non-perishable food items to donate to the Loudon Food Pantry. These donations contributed to a total of 2,342.9 pounds of food, which will provide 1,952 meals.

“We thank Gift of Lights and all involved for their generosity.” said Loudon Food Pantry President Sue Houck. “Receiving this donation will allow those in need to pay bills and still be able to feed their families.”

Since Gift of Lights first started, food and monetary donations have allowed NHMS to donate nearly 105,000 pounds of food to the Loudon Food Pantry, which has provided nearly 98,000 meals to locals during the holiday and winter months.

Gift of Lights presented by Ambetter and Wellcare, which has welcomed nearly 176,000 vehicles since 2011, is a 2.5-mile drive-thru light show that transforms NHMS into a twinkling winter wonderland with 3.5 million LED lights each holiday season.

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