Corey LaJoie, and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team which contended for the race win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2022, will have a new look on his Chevrolet Camaro for six races in 2023.
The Jessie Rees Foundation will partner with LaJoie and the team by way of a private philanthropic foundation and will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 7 car.
LaJoie is blown away by the opportunity to connect with the Jessie Rees Foundation thanks to the anonymous individuals that helped make the sponsorship come to fruition.
“Thanks to some very generous individuals with big hearts, I’m fortunate enough to spread the mission of NEGU and help bring joy and hope to pediatric cancer patients across the country,” said LaJoie in a team release. “As Christmas approaches, it’s important to remind myself and anyone who will listen, there are so many courageous families fighting a battle like no other. During this Christmas and holiday season, I’m encouraging my friends, family and fans to contribute to the Jessie Rees Foundation by sponsoring a JoyJar and help bring a smile to the face of a child who is fighting cancer.
“As part of our partnership, I’ll spend some time visiting hospitals with pediatric cancer units to offer love, encouragement and hope to those who can use it the most. We have a special opportunity and we’re going to make the most of it.”
On the hood and sides of LaJoie’s No. 7 car will be Team NEGU (Never Ever Give Up). The phrase was inspired by Jim Valvano’s iconic Arthur Ashe Courage Award recipient speech at the inaugural ESPY Awards in 1993.
The Jessie Rees Foundation is incredibly proud to have their organization represented on a NASCAR Cup Series race car and are excited to get their message in front of a loyal audience — NASCAR fans.
“The Jessie Rees Foundation is incredibly honored to be the primary sponsor of Spire Motorsports and Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet for six races during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season,” said Erik Rees, Jessie’s proud dad and co-founder of the Jessie Rees Foundation. “This exciting partnership will not only expand awareness of our mission to encourage kids and families impacted by childhood cancer to ‘Never Ever Give Up,’ (NEGU) it will allow us to deliver JoyJars to kids fighting cancer throughout the season with Corey and his team. In addition, we are extremely humbled by the unwavering generosity from a donor’s foundation, who wish to remain anonymous, to allow this partnership to take place. Together we will keep curing bad days caused by childhood cancer.”
The foundation will adorn the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for the first time at Auto Club Speedway on February 26th. The blue scheme will also appear at Martinsville Speedway on April 16th, Daytona International Speedway on August 26th, Bristol Motor Speedway on September 16th, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 15th and Phoenix Raceway on November 5th.
If this is the first time you’ve heard of the Jessie Rees Foundation, the foundation fights in the honor of Jessica Joy Rees, who passed away from terminal brain cancer at the age of 12 years old.
As Jessie was fighting her battle with cancer, her thoughts weren’t self-centered. Instead, Jessie focused on how she could help fellow children, under the age of 19, that were battling cancer.
She created Jessie’s JoyJars, and the rest is history. Jessie’s JoyJars are age and gender-specific jars that are filled with new toys and activities to help children fighting cancer, “smile and feel loved.”
In addition to the JoyJars, The Jessie Rees Foundation also provides resources for families that are navigating what it means to have and care for their child that has been diagnosed with cancer.
To learn more about the Jessie Rees Foundation and sponsor a JoyJar, please visit negu.org/coreylajoie.
