Youth Off-Road Racing Organization Gets Rolling
A new nonprofit organization, Off-Road Motorsports Youth Foundation (OMYF), has been formed to provide young people with hands-on opportunities in motorsports.
The nonprofit organization, based in Evansville, Indiana, resulted from one boy’s dream to build a desert racing team that gives back to the community. Preston Lewis, an individual passionate about racing who was diagnosed with leukemia in high school, came up with OMYF to connect the youth to the motorsports industry and help them pursue their dreams. Lewis’s wish to create OMYF and his own desert racing team was granted by Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana who have assisted in the launch of the organization.
Off-Road Motorsports Youth Foundation will provide children with an opportunity to connect them with motorsports. Those who desire to get involved with OMYF can gain real-life experience working on the team’s Class 7100 Unlimited Trophy Truck that will be soon be built, or pursue another aspect of the sport, such as race management, learning more about the repair processes, helping design and develop new parts, and more.
“The whole goal for the foundation is to be able to give kids the golden ticket, as I call it,” said Lewis. “If we can just give them one trait or one piece of advice that they can carry for the rest of their life and go somewhere great with it, whatever it is, that’s the best possible outcome we can have.”
Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana connected Lewis to Michael Davis of VPS Architecture and Shawn Collins of Extend Group to help him launch his own 501c3 and build a brand for the organization.
“Extend Group is honored to serve Preston in the formation of the Off-Road Motorsports Youth Foundation. His story inspired us. His passion for motorsports connected us and combined with his desire to give back to our community; it’s supercharged us. He’s come such a long way in his journey,” said Shawn Collins, CEO and Founder of Extend Group. “Extend Group is looking forward to seeing Preston’s wish become a reality. We recognize his accomplishments today and know OMYF will positively impact future generations. We cannot wait to see where this new journey takes Preston.
To help make OMYF a reality, the team needs the community’s support and any time or equipment people are willing to donate. When asked what the one thing he needs most to make OMYF happen, Preston Lewis stressed the value of knowledge and time. Any advice, industry insight, or a connection to someone that can aid the cause will help Preston and his team tremendously. Contact Preston Lewis at preston.lewis@omy-foundation.org for more information or visit omy-foundation.org to learn more.
