Good NewsWorld's youngest race car driver raises $250,000 for cancer research
When Timmy “Mini” Tyrrell was 6 years old, he learned that his friend Ella Day had cancer and her family struggled to keep up with the mounting medical bills.
"He saw the need and he wanted to help," Ella’s mother, Karen Day, told WTOP. “He wanted to do anything he could do to help, [for] a six-year-old, that to me is astonishing.”
Now 10, the Virginia native has raised $250,000 for cancer research through his organization, Mini’s Mission. And he’s not done yet.
Ella has been cancer-free for four years. If her tests come back clean next June, she’ll be considered cured.
"I think it’s awesome that he’s doing this stuff for me and for other kids around the country," Ella said of her determined friend.
Mini’s famous friend certainly him helped raise awareness.
Mini has been racing go-karts and stock cars since the age of 4 and was even dubbed “the world’s youngest race car driver” after he raced a late model stock car at age 9. That, along with his fundraising program, caught the attention of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.
Mini Mission’s slogan: “Burn rubber to help another.”
Gordon recruited Mini to work for the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation, and has matched donations to Mini’s Mission on numerous occasions.
Thanks to races, sports tournaments, and lemonade stands, some of which raise up to $50,000 at a time, Mini’s Mission has been able to distribute funds to numerous cancer charities over the years.
Mini also donates most of his race winnings to the fund.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Mini and Gordon teamed up with the Kick It campaign to host their 3rd Annual Kickball Tournament over the weekend, raising more than $30,000 for pediatric cancer research. Two other Kick It events brought the total to more than $90,000.
“Never in our wildest imagination, could we have predicted what Mini would accomplish in just three years,” said his proud mom, Tina.
With the success of Mini’s Mission, Mini is dreaming even bigger than before. He now hopes to open a children’s hospital focused on pediatric cancers.
