The youngest member of the ProFormance Racing School bloodline is keeping a vital family tradition alive: helping children in need through charity-driven motorsport.
It’s coming up on 30 years ago that Don Kitch Jr. and Donna Porada-Kitch founded Team Seattle, now
The Heart of Racing, a racing organization dedicated to fundraising for Seattle Children’s Hospital. In 1997, it was called Racing for Children’s, as the team was raising funds for Seattle Children’s Hospital, one of the nation’s foremost hospitals for children. Don and Donna’s daughter, Siena Kitch, a newly-minted race driver, has adopted the name and the compassionate cause for her own organization. Here’s how you can help.
Seattle Children’s: compassionate care
Racing for Children’s will raise money for cardiology research within the Heart Center at Seattle Children’s, recognized as the region’s best medical institution serving children. Seattle Children’s provides cutting-edge quality by delivering world-class care and discovering new treatments through their groundbreaking research.
Most important: Seattle Children’s delivers superior medical care regardless of the families’ ability to pay.
Giving back is the way forward
Siena has been a fixture at ProFormance Racing School all her life. She now serves as the school’s Marketing Director. Recently, Siena obtained her racing license and has gone into PRO3 racing. And while she’s delighted to be carrying on the family tradition of going fast on four wheels, she also wants to contribute to the family efforts to help children in need.
Her father’s involvement in charities goes back even before Team Seattle. “I have always linked my racing to charity,” Don says. During the 1991 and 1992 Barber Saab Series, he raced for the March of Dimes, another charity that helps children in need. Don and Donna’s commitment to altruism has obviously inspired Siena.
“I’ve been blessed,” she says. “I want to give back anyway I can, and this seems like a natural fit.” She decided to launch her own campaign to help Children’s, giving her new charitable enterprise the name that Team Seattle bore before it went international: Racing for Children’s. Her car will also sport the legend “For Kami and the Kids” in honor of Kami Sutton, a longtime advocate for medical charities who originally inspired Don to raise money for Children’s.
Helping kids far and wide
“Some people think that Seattle Children’s strictly serves our local Seattle area,” says Siena. “In fact, they are a regional provider offering care to children from Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, and Montana.” The mission is to provide “care and cures:” top-flight care for children who need it, and new cures for conditions that affect children’s health. In practice, this involves nearly 60 pediatric subspecialties.
The heart of the matter
Racing for Children’s raises funds for cardiology research within the Heart Center, supporting innovations that improve outcomes for infants, children, teens, and young adults facing complex heart conditions. At least one cardiac physician is present in the Heart Center 24/7. Employing dedicated heart experts and the most advanced technology, the Heart Center has won awards for its excellence.
Goal: 24K
Siena Kitch has put her heart into Racing for Children’s. Her goal is to raise $24,000 for cardiology research in the Heart Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The number has significance: Siena is 24 years old, and her beloved PRO3 car is Number 24. Siena will keep track of the donations raised at each race weekend and update her whiteboard with a dollar amount per lap—a practice her parents employed!
Reaching this worthy goal will require the help of good people like you. Please go to the Racing for Children’s donation page and help Children’s help kids in need of medical care.
Siena thanks you.
