The 1960's television series, "Batman," a true American classic.
The crime fighting duo was known for a lotta things, one of them, climbing and rappelling tall buildings.
- [Robin] When you think Batman, with people in weird outfits, like the four super crooks hangin' around here, it's amazing someone hasn't already reported this place to the police.
- [Jason] If you didn't know any better, you might think the Caped Crusaders were back and in Charlotte, rappelling down the Embassy Suites.
- [Announcer] And that's the other half of the dynamic due of Charlotte Creative Mornings.
- [Jason] It was all part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Foundation's annual fundraising event.
- It's the 5th year that we've done it.
- I think giving back has been a big part of NASCAR, long before I was around.
- [Jason] Instead of doing your typical golf outing or dinner fundraiser, they've decided to mix it up.
- So the NASCAR Foundation brought the idea to us to have a unique fundraising opportunity.
- [Jason] Partnering with Over the Edge, a Canadian based organization, that since its inception in 2008, has helped raise more than $135 million for non-profits worldwide.
- They kind of approached us initially to be a partner of theirs, and we just continue to feel like we're offering a really great experience for people that you're not gonna have anywhere else.
- [Jason] With a DJ spinning tunes and crowds gathering on the Hall of Fame Plaza to watch, participants slowly rappel down 10 floors from the Embassy Suite's roof.
Those signing up each raised a minimum of $1,000, which gave them the opportunity to go over the edge.
- Oh, I loved it.
Definitely it was nerve wracking, I'm not really a heights person, not really a rollercoasters person, won't go skydiving like my husband, but I knew I was in safe hands.
- [Jason] Those taking part geared up with all the safety features from harnesses and clips, helmets and gloves.
Then it was time to go up the stairs to the roof, some final instructions from the Over the Edge team, and then, it was time.
- The scariest part is when they tell you, they're like, "Go up to the edge, "just put your feet at the edge," and it's like, oh my goodness, I'm on the edge of a building.
But afterwards, once you get started, it's just really fun.
- I was nervous a little bit once I got up there.
I was kinda talkin' a lotta junk on the way up the elevator, saying that I was a little underwhelmed with the height, but yeah, it turned out to be just great.
- [Jason] Step by step, down they came, with each rappeller controlling his or her speed.
As they scaled down the building, Jordyne Dixon and Jamel Roberts had their own cheering section.
- Our team from our company came out to support us and then some friends and family as well.
- [Jason] And father daughter tandem, Bill McMillan and Carson Little, also rappelled together.
- Heard about it, word of mouth a few years ago, and it's been five years here in Charlotte.
I've done it four, Carson and I have done it two together.
- A lot of it's definitely your mindset.
You have to be able to just kinda go with it and know that you're in safe hands.
It's a national organization, so you know that you've got all the safety equipment up there.
You've got about five people checking you from each station point, so you definitely feel like you're in good hands.
- It's really so easy to do, and I would encourage anybody to do it.
- [Jason] This year's event had 57 rappellers, who raised a combined total of more than $122,000.
Those funds then allow kids to attend field trips at the Hall of Fame at a significantly reduced rate.
- So the foundation raises funds to support our scholarship program.
That scholarship program offers children who are in Title One schools or who have a greater than 50% on free and reduced lunch, the opportunity to come to the Hall of Fame for 25% of the actual cost.
So the foundation's covering 75% of that field trip, making it just $4.50.
- [Jason] And in just a few years, the number of kids taking advantage of the program has skyrocketed.
- We've got an education program, that last year did somewhere around 13, 14,000 kids, which is very strong comin' out of COVID.
We have done as many as 17,000 kids, and our foundation subsidized over 4,000 students, with over $47,000, just in the last fiscal year alone.
- [Jason] While the kids enjoy a fun field trip and look at the vintage race cars when they come to the Hall, what they're really getting is an education in STEM, science, technology, engineering, and math.
- If you really think about it, NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame is a STEM laboratory.
Everything about NASCAR is about science, technology, engineering, and math.
These cars are purpose-built cars.
There's a lotta technology that goes into it.
We also have a lot of interactives, simulators, pit crew challenge, things like that, so they can have fun while they're learning, and that's something that teachers wanna be able to do.
And the fact that our programs are all tied to the North Carolina and the state standards of education, so it's very helpful to the teachers, as well as it is the students.
- Hearing about all that the NASCAR Hall of Fame does, I wouldn't have thought that, I would've just thought racing, but they have a lot of cool programs and a lot of cool science programs that go into like cars and how much advances they have, and all of that kinda rolls into STEM, so I think it's a really cool and unique way to get kids to know about STEM.
- When you use STEM-based education, they don't even know they're really learning because it's just fun.
- [Jason] And knowing they're helping children learn while having some fun themselves, makes it all the better.
- Being able to come down this building here, and at the same time, support kids and serve my community, I thought that that was a really unique way to unite both of those things, living and serving at the same time.
So it really kind of catapulted me to get out here.
- My mom's a teacher, and so I've seen her throughout the years try to educate and put all her resources towards the next generation, and so I thought this was a great way to kinda contribute to that.
- So, we love being a part of that and giving back to the community.