LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 02: Betty Jane France poses with Jeff Hanson of Overland Park, Kansas, who represents the Children's Tumor Foundation, during the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Reception inside Wynn Las Vegas during NASCAR Champion's Week on December 2, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/NASCAR via Getty Images)
22-year-old artist Jeff Hanson - who overcame a childhood fight against cancer - is the 2015 winner of The NASCAR Foundation's Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide.
The fifth annual award was presented Friday night during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards in Las Vegas.
Hanson will receive a $100,000 donation for the New York-based Children's Tumor Foundation, in addition to a 2016 Ford.
"Jeff Hanson's story is inspiring and his accomplishments are impressive," said France. "This is a resilient and immensely talented young man we have become proud to know -- and even more proud to have as our fifth annual award winner."
Hanson began painting during chemotherapy treatments in 2005. In 2006 he turned his paintings into a fundraising platform for the Children's Tumor Foundation, selling them from his family's driveway.
His paintings have now raised more than $250,000 for the Children's Tumor Foundation and more than $1.3 million for charities worldwide.
"Being recognized by such a well-known name as NASCAR is a win for the Children's Tumor Foundation and for neurofibromatosis, helping to raise awareness of a disorder that affects one in every 3,000 people," said Hanson. "The money that we receive from The NASCAR Foundation will be used to launch an exciting new research program aimed at improving the lives of people like me who live with NF and help us get a little closer to finding a cure."
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