Vote Often for Transplant Patients

Pepsi and BE THE MATCH, what a combo. My dad's work with PEPSI put me through medical school, and BE THE MATCH saves lives of people like me.

Now if only it was the NHL and not NASCAR it would be a match made in heaven.

Take a look. $100,000 at stake and all you need to do it vote.

E-news article

TRANSPLANT PATIENTS NEED YOUR VOTE!

Help NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and Be The Match Foundation^SM
take the lead in a race for $100,000

Pepsi, Jimmie Johnson and Be The Match Foundation^SM are teaming up in a race to win $100,000.

There’s never been an easier way to help children battling leukemia and lymphoma receive the marrow transplant they need.

Go to NASCAR.COM/PepsiRefresh and vote for NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and Be The Match Foundation’s Transplant Grants for Kids. Voting is open through June 23^rd and you can vote as many times each day as you would like.

Pepsi has invited three NASCAR drivers to take part in this friendly competition. All are teammates on the Hendrick Motorsports team and each driver will promote a charity of his choice. The driver who collects the most online votes by June 23^rd wins $100,000 for his charity.

Jimmie Johnson, the four time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, has selected Be The Match Foundation as his charity. The funds would help financially vulnerable families afford the uninsured and overwhelming recovery costs that come with a child’s marrow transplant.

“I can't imagine having to choose between being beside my child's hospital bed or being at work in order to keep our insurance active and a roof over our heads. It is a wonderful thing to know that Transplant Grants for Kids can help ease that tension,” Johnson said. “These grants give moms and dads a little less to worry about and give kids what they want most when they are sick - their parents by their bedside."

This $100,000 competition featuring NASCAR drivers is part of the Pepsi Refresh Project, a multi-million dollar national campaign that asks people to submit ideas to better their community and gives the public the chance to vote for their favorite.

Every year, 10,000 patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and 70 other life-threatening diseases discover they need a marrow transplant but have no donor match in their family. Many are children. They rely on Be The Match Foundation to help them find an unrelated marrow donor and receive the transplant they need.

While a marrow transplant can be a life-saving treatment, it takes a financial toll on a family. Often there is the temporary loss of at least one parent’s income to care for their child. And even with insurance, not all costs are covered. On average, child transplant recovery expenses exceed a family’s income by $1,200 per month.

Your support of Be The Match Foundation helps families pay for prescription co-pays, transportation to and from the transplant hospital (often in another state), temporary lodging, and other uninsured expenses for up to six months after transplant.