RACING 2 LEARN
The unique Racing 2 Learn program incorporates three important things to Jim Becker and the J&J Racing team; children, education, and racing. The program targets both younger students as well as college bound students, and uses the
excitement of racing to help teach them the importance of education and being good people, as well as other important skills they will use in their everyday lives. It has also evolved into a program that helps school aged kids that are racing in various levels of the sport.
The concept and basis for the program is fairly simple. For the older students, there are internship and scholarship programs for those who want to be involved in racing or with a race team. This involvement includes the different aspects of racing and a race team, such as but not limited to, mechanical and engineering; marketing and sales; planning, testing and result reporting; and business administration. The team can provide real life experiences within all of these disciplines, with the goal and intention that they get experience in more than one of the above.
As mentioned above, this has also evolved in to sponsorship and working with kids who are driving now or want to drive racecars or karts. The team seeks kids with good grades, strong family ties and involvement, and who are hands on with their car and race team. They not only get help with marketing support, which increases exposure for the Racing 2 Learn program and marketing partners, but also receive advice, information, and general racing assistance.
For the younger students, there is the Kids Machine, which uses the racecar and excitement around racing to help teach and reinforce the important messages kids are hearing in school and hopefully at home. The message is geared towards the age group being presented to, and usually includes the importance of school and learning, safety, teamwork, and the downside of bullying and drug use. This has been highly successful.
This year (2008 race season) is the 3rd year of the program and it continues to grow. The team has had three high school level students work with them, with two of students now in college and one of them a junior in high school. One of the college students has chosen to remain with the team during the race season. All three have earned scholarship money, and have put their hands-on experience to use with school based projects.
Jim and the J&J Racing team believes the idea of using racing to help the children and students of our communities learn real world skills, and to reinforce the important messages parents and teachers promote, is a positive for the team, its marketing partners, and for racing in general. J&J Racing is a professional operation in all aspects of the business, including the race shop, racecars, and actions on and off the track. They always represent themselves and their partners in a respectful and positive manner.