Carroll Shelby Foundation to Donate $150,000 to Children’s Organ Transplant Association
The Carroll Shelby Foundation will donate a total of $150,000 to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association’s Hope Fund over the next three years, the organization announced. The donation will help provide a safety net for families facing the financial and emotional challenges of raising a child who needs a life-saving transplant.
“The Carroll Shelby Foundation and COTA have worked together to support families in need for many years, but this is the first time that we’ve made such a substantial and long term commitment to the organization,” said Aaron Shelby, co-President of the Carroll Shelby Foundation. “Our shared passion for helping families facing the crisis of an organ transplant is why we doubled our annual donation for 2020 and will do that again each of the next two years.”
COTA provides a lifetime of support to transplant patients. Over the last three decades, COTA has grown from a regional organization assisting transplant families in Indiana to a national network of families and volunteers in all 50 states. COTA is the largest organization dedicated to helping families with transplant-related expenses and providing fundraising assistance to community volunteers.
“Both charities were established to help kids in ‘the race for life,’ as Carroll Shelby used to say,” said Rick Lofgren, president of COTA. “The funds contributed by the Carroll Shelby Foundation to COTA will ensure that no child is denied a second chance at life due to financial issues.”
CSF made its first donation to COTA in 2009. Over the past decade, the two organizations have continued to collaborate on programs that benefit the families of transplant patients.
CSF was created in 1992 while the retired racing driver and automaker Carroll Shelby was waiting for a heart transplant in the hospital. The charity is dedicated to providing medical assistance for those in need, including children. The Foundation also supports educational opportunities for young people through automotive and other training programs and benefits the Carroll Shelby Automotive Foundation. Aaron Shelby, Carroll’s grandson, is co-President of the organization along with Neil Cummings.
