In this article: NASCAR's Track Walk: Fans walk the track with their favorite drivers for charity 2008 Make A Difference Day articles: NASCAR's Elliott Sadler on his charity work You can help others, too. By Jimmie Johnson. Ashley Judd: "Volunteering is spiritually rewarding." NASCAR's Kyle Petty on his Victory Junction camp and Paul Newman

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NASCAR's Elliott Sadler on his charity work

He helps fight autism. "Make somebody else feel special"

The NASCAR Foundation: Our new teammate Start your engines! The NASCAR Foundation Volunteer Network is the official teammate for USA WEEKEND's Make A Difference Day 2008. From now through October, you'll read inspirational words in this magazine from some of NASCAR's hottest drivers. Stay tuned for messages about Make A Difference Day on air, at the racetrack and at NASCAR.com/foundation. NASCAR goes a lap for charity Saturday, May 31 USA WEEKEND Magazine teams up with the NASCAR Foundation as a media sponsor of the Track Walk at Dover International Speedway. The day before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, fans get the rare chance to walk the track with some of their favorite drivers to raise money for charity. Elliott Sadler walked last year on behalf of autism. "It's a great event," he says. "I love doing things like that."

When I was a kid, my mom always worried about other people. She's the youngest of six, and after a couple of my uncles got cancer, she became their caregiver. It seemed like small things: driving them to the hospital, preparing food, grocery shopping. But it always stuck with me how she put other people first.

When Halie, my niece, was diagnosed with autism in 2001, it changed our family completely. She was only 3, and we had to look up autism in the encyclopedia that night just to see what it was! We had no idea what to expect, but we knew that we wanted to do everything we could to give Halie the best life she could possibly have. So my brother, Hermie, and I created the Hermie and Elliott Sadler Foundation to contribute and raise money for autism research and to increase awareness.

Giving back is something everyone can do, and Make A Difference Day is a great way to start. It brings people together to raise money for all kinds of causes, including autism. People can start with something small, like a charity drive for local kids. They will be amazed by how their efforts grow.

We meet on the racetrack all the time with families who have autism in their lives. They share stories, and that has helped us with Halie. Sometimes parents will be bawling because they're so grateful for what we do. I met a family in Ohio a few years ago who named one of their children after me -- not because of who I am on the racetrack, but because of my charity work. That's special to me.

And NASCAR Nation -- it's unbelievable. Man, if it's for a good cause, the fans will show up. Everybody has a favorite driver in NASCAR, but the fans do not limit donations and time and effort to their favorite drivers.

Now, Halie's doing amazing. I love spending time with her; she's just as happy as can be. Sometimes around a lot of people, she gets a little scared. But compared with where we were five years ago in treating the disease, we've been blessed. We try to take the spirit and the happiness that we learn from her and translate that into the things we do for our charity.

I know that everybody's busy, and everybody's working hard. But don't wait until something affects you; it could be too late. Take a little time out of the day to make somebody else feel special.

I can't think of a better day to do this than Make A Difference Day. People may not know how rewarded they'll feel inside. But the time, money and effort you put into it, you get back tenfold.

Best of all, your mom will be proud.

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1 day, millions of good deeds
USA WEEKEND's Make A Difference Day has a simple but powerful mission: Put your cares aside for one day to care for someone else. Each year on the fourth Saturday of October, more than 3 million people help 20 million others. Join the action Oct. 25.

$100,000 for charity
USA WEEKEND and Newman's Own will salute Make A Difference Day volunteers by awarding $10,000 donations to the charities selected by each of 10 national honorees.

SPONSORS: USA WEEKEND's Make A Difference Day is in partnership with Points of Light & Hands On Network.