Jeff Gordon was born in 1974 on August 4th. He used to be a professional stock car racer in the United States. Jeff has used willpower, hard effort, and years of expertise to achieve triumphs that have earned him the titles of Three-time Daytona winner, Five-time Brickyard 400 winner, and Four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion (Anniss & Killcoyne, 2014). He found his racing gift when he was five years old and has embraced it with tremendous humility, excelling in many fields.In the year 1999, Gordon established the Jeff Gordon Children’ Foundation which is devoted to supporting the research on pediatric cancer. This paper will discuss Gordon’s foundation and how the foundation reflects the personal values of Jeff Gordon. It will also discuss foundation as an example of leadership integrity, how the foundation enhances the image of celebrity and describe the compatibility of integrity and image management.
Jeff Gordon established the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation with a passion for offering support to the pediatric cancer research, patient support programs, and treatment. The foundation’s mission is to help the children fighting cancer by funding the programs that improve the quality life of cancer patients, programs that involve treatment which can increase the rate of survivorship, and pediatric research that is committed to the discovery of a simple cure for the disease. The vision of the foundation is that one day there will be no child being faced by the improbability of cancer, and the discovered cure will result in the desired outcomes (Anniss & Killcoyne, 2014). For the achievement of the vision, the foundation is putting more efforts and resources in creating public awareness and also funding extensively for the pediatric cancer research. The foundation provides great support in Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord, which is an excellent service to the children. The hospital offers quality pediatric care to all children in the community irrespective of their family’s financial status. The foundation has also drawn-out its services internationally and has made it bring pediatric cancer care to Rwanda in Africa.
The foundations initiated by professional athletes and celebrities can be a powerful tool in enhancing their values. The way the society perceives them determines their leadership position in the society (Starr, 2016). Jeff Gordon is the role model to the many young adults for his achievements and humility. The foundation allows Gordon to give back to the society and to offer support to the less fortunate by use of his achieved resources. He demonstrates effective leadership skills by relating with other people’s needs, in which he represent his held values and priorities to the community. The setting up of foundation reflects his service to the people, empathy, compassion, responsibility and integrity among others.
Leadership with integrity is best described by a leader who inspires others and is willing to influence the outcomes within a community (Harrison, 2011). Jeff Gordon Foundation is an example of leadership with integrity for it allows Gordon to demonstrate his character and credibility. He started small by earning the people’s trust through portraying commitments in small projects before establishing the great foundation. The foundation set up has been developed in his areas of passion, and he has put limitless efforts to ensure he delivers to the people their needs efficiently. His integrity is demonstrated by his determination to contribute to the community, make the desired change and improve the community at large.
Foundations or projects can be a platform in which the celebrities enhance their image. Some celebrities have set up their foundations using their name, for instance, Jeff Gordon’s Children Foundation, thus making them popular far and wide just by the mention of the names. Gordon can develop relationships with the public in which he can create public awareness concerning his foundation. The public awareness is essential in that it helps in encouraging more donations in the foundation, thus meeting the needs of the people effectively (Starr, 2016). Other celebrities also utilize the foundations in attaining maximum control and tax planning benefit which in turn helps in image-enhancing.
Gordon’s integrity and image management are compatible. He has for many years conducted himself as a successful leader whose his heart is at children’ needs especially the ones battling with cancer. He has put all his efforts in ensuring all projects regarding the pediatric care have been funded without fail. His image to the world is maintained by a person with a will power to give back to the society. His fans have never been disappointed by him for he always attains the best in all his areas, his integrity, hard work, and humility reflect his good image with a large concern of the needs of the society.
Conclusively, Jeff Gordon’s Children Foundation is a project set for social good which ensures quality pediatric care is delivered to the cancer patients and in funding the research findings of better treatment therapies. Jeff Gordon personal values have been portrayed by the foundation for his passion for the service of the others. The foundation has allowed Gordon to portray his leadership in integrity since he delivers the services effectively to the people in need. Finally, image management and integrity are compatible for Gordon for he has conducted himself as a leader with integrity and enhanced a positive image to the people.
References
Anniss, M., & Killcoyne, H. (2014). Jeff Gordon in the Community. Chicago: Britannica Educational Publishing.
Harrison, L. M. (2011). Transformational Leadership, Integrity, and Power. New Directions For Student Services, (135), 45-52.
Starr, J. P. (2016). Lead with transparency and integrity: being clear about who makes various decisions and enacting those decisions with integrity is key to effective leadership. Phi Delta Kappan, (2),
