So as you know, Dale Earnhardt Jr. started this whole JeffGluck.com hat thing — which, again, is not real! I don’t have hats! — with a couple tweets during Phoenix weekend. And while I still don’t have plans to sell any hats, Dale came up with a great idea recently that I hope will benefit a worthy charity.

After a fan named @thetechdork made a JeffGluck.com hat and overnighted it to JR Motorsports, Dale reached out and suggested we auction it off for charity. The bidding started at $200 (if you can believe that!) and will last for a week; proceeds go to the Dale Jr. Foundation, which will then donate to Beads of Courage — my preferred charity.

I’m SO happy Dale came up with a great way to use the hat prank craziness for a good cause. My wife, Sarah, is training to be a Child Life Specialist at a children’s hospital and has told me about how kids react to getting their Beads of Courage.

If a child is getting a bead, they’re likely battling a very serious and chronic illness. For every needle poke, surgery or overnight stay in the hospital — just to name a few — the child receives a bead. I’ve been carrying some tire-shaped beads around with me since the Daytona 500 so a child will be able to say their bead was at the racetrack.

Anyway, I hope the winning hat bidder knows they’re helping a worthy charity that makes a difference in the lives of children who are going through hard times.

Here’s the link to the charity auction if you want to check it out.

Thanks again to Dale for coming up with this idea (and by the way, the small print on the auction site says Dale “will autograph the hat if the highest bidder would like for it to be,” so there’s that!).

Below are two videos: The Periscope where we announced the plan and a video where you can learn more about what Beads of Courage does.



