Racing For Kids is a unique national charity, which draws on the popularity of motorsports to bring attention and funding to the health care needs of children and child health institutions. There are several dimensions to the Racing For Kids program, which was founded in Detroit in 1989. At the heart of the program are visits to children's hospitals across the country by the Racing For Kids team of celebrity race car drivers. The drivers spend time with each sick child, answering questions about their racing careers,posing for photographs, signing autographs and giving out the distinctive Racing For Kids baseball-style hats, coloring books and posters. For many hospitalized youngsters, these visits by the racers are the lone bright spot in what is often a rather gloomy experience. Attending physicians report that these visits play an important part in each child's recovery theraphy. Racing For Kids has visited almost 20,000 children in more than 400 hospital visits in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Australia. In addition, Racing For Kids has raised and distributed nearly $5 million through donations and specific fund raising events.