CONCORD, N.C. (June 12, 2011) –  The Flagler County Education Foundation and 24 Hours of Booty are the first two charities selected to be featured on the 2011 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Helmet of Hope, which Johnson will wear in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway in September.

Each organization will also receive a grant of $10,000.

Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach News Journal nominated the Flagler County Education Foundation, a group committed to generating financial support and awareness to enhance educational programs benefiting students and teachers in Flagler County Public Schools.  The Flagler County Education Foundation has several core programs they fund and manage, also working closely with the school district to ensure the success of other programs.

Kelly, who has volunteered with the organization for eight years, explained that the all-volunteer group has changed hundreds of lives for the better over the years.

Terry Hennessee of Mooresville, N.C. nominated 24 Hours of Booty, which conducts 24-hour cycling events that increase public awareness, funds, and support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and local cancer organizations.

According to Hennessee, cancer has touched his life in many ways from the passing of his mother from breast cancer to being a skin cancer patient himself. Hennessee says 24 Hours of Booty provides a fun, safe, and enjoyable environment to help fight cancer.

In its fourth year, the Helmet of Hope program gives fans and media members across the country the opportunity to nominate their charity of choice to be featured on Johnson’s helmet for a select race.  Each charity also receives a grant of $10,000. To date, the program has contributed close to $200,000 to 37 different charities.

Johnson selected the first two charities Friday at Pocono Raceway. He will draw one winner from a list of media submissions and one from a list of fan submissions each race weekend through the New Hampshire event in July.  The two charities selected Friday join the American Red Cross, which was placed on the helmet to kick off the event in response to recent tragedies across the nation, and Lowe’s Toolbox for Education, which the Jimmie Johnson Foundation partners with to fund Champions Grants, which are awarded to K-12 public schools in the hometowns where the Johnsons grew up and currently live.

Fans and media members may nominate their charity by visiting www.helmetofhope.org.

For more information about the most recently selected charities, visitwww.flagleredfoundation.org and www.24hoursofbooty.com.