Joey Logano Foundation &
The Connection, Inc.
Special Events
NASCAR Champion Joey Logano has had a thrilling racing career that began for him at age 6, first competing in mini sprint car races when most kids his age were learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels. He would go on to become the youngest driver to win a Nationwide Series race at 18 years, 21 days old. Needless to say that today he’s grown to become a prominent figure in American racing… and his humble beginnings were right here in our home state.
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Logano has not forgotten his roots through his fame and success, but rather quite the contrary: at a pivotal point in his career he founded the Joey Logano Foundation. — which would eventually bring him back to Connecticut where he and his foundation would team up with Ink&Pixel client The Connection, Inc. after their research brought them to The Connection’s website that we designed; but first the backstory…
A Foundation Dedicated to Second Chances
“After a life-changing experience during a visit to Joplin, MO following the devastating tornado of 2011, Joey witnessed first-hand how powerful the act of giving back can be after helping re-build a home for a local family. After such tragedy, the family needed a second chance to get back on their feet and move forward.
Not long after his Joplin experience, Joey experienced his own need for a second chance. His career at Joe Gibbs Racing was over. Joey found his second chance at Team Penske. Since Joey’s career began with Penske, he has remained dedicated to using the platform of motorsports to provide second chances to those in need.
In 2013, the Joey Logano Foundation was established. The Foundation has responded to the needs of communities across the country. The Foundation has offered hundreds of organizations helping hundreds of thousands of individuals with a first and/or second chance in life.”
Making the Ink&Pixel “Connection”
Still in its infancy, the Joey Logano Foundation was seeking causes to support that were doing big things in New England in particular — because this is where it all began for him. We were excited to learn that the Logano team were immediately drawn to The Connection after landing on their site and interacting with the brand and storytelling that we developed for them. (This is was a fantastic illustration of the power that an effective site and brand can have on prospective customers, clients, donors, or in this case sponsors and future partners!)
After getting to know the work of The Connection, the Foundation quickly learned that not only do they serve communities all across his home state, but they are also an organization that supports several disciplines that perfectly align with the foundation’s core belief in second chances — providing services in the areas of Family Support, Behavioral Health, and Community Justice.
A Wonderful Place and Some Special Events
The partnership began with the establishment of Logano Place, The Connection’s newest transitional housing program for homeless adult men and women. Logano Place provides housing for up to 28 homeless adult men and women who are actively working on their recovery from behavioral health and substance abuse issues. The goal of the program is to provide support to these men and women so that they can successfully re-enter the work force and permanently exit from homelessness. The program, located in Middletown will offer second chances to those who are working to achieve independence in their lives.
The Logano Foundation team worked with Ink&Pixel to create and promote special events that tied to fundraising and awareness around Logano Place and The Connection. Directly after the ribbon cutting at Logano Place, the crew proceeded to a karting event called “Hometown Showdown” that Joey didn’t simply make an appearance for, but he raced in against a group of kids that were beyond excited as you could imagine.
We then went on to develop a golf tournament, dinner, and auction called “Racing for Hope” that also saw great success and continued to evolve for The Connection through the years to follow. Ink&Pixel consulted for the strategic planning, media relations, and brand rollout for the golf tournament including promotions in print, digital, and broadcast media; and produced branded collateral for the event including print and environmental graphics, and coordinated with the Logano Foundation team to support them with their needs as well.
