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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Sandwich: Viral Tweet Used To Launch Child Hunger Awareness Campaign

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 14:22 PST, Apr 8, 2016

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is apparently using the power of the internet for good — and it all started with a banana and mayonnaise sandwich!

According to NBC Sports, the NASCAR star took full advantage of the buzz that was generated after he tweeted a picture of his banana and mayo sandwich. Dale posted the photo, which consisted of sandwich bread layered with Hellmann’s mayonnaise and a sliced banana, on Twitter Tuesday night.

In a press release, Earnhardt made it clear that he did not expect the sandwich photo to generate as much buzz as it did almost immediately after he posted it.

“I was shocked – in a completely good way – at how much attention this picture received Tuesday night. I got a kick out of watching the videos of people trying the sandwich for the first time. Even if they didn’t like it, I appreciated that they gave it a shot.”

There was definitely a wide variety of responses and reactions to the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sandwich tweet. Some people actually decided to test it out for themselves and shared footage of their “experiments” online.

Others simply mocked or discussed the overall concept of eating a banana and mayonnaise sandwich in the first place.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. apparently didn’t focus too much on the positives and negatives of the buzz. The simple fact that it sparked conversation was good enough for him and inspired him to channel that energy into a positive project.

“The whole thing got me thinking that whether you like the sandwich or not, perhaps we could make something universally positive from this.”

What was his big idea for a “positive” project? Dale launched a two-week awareness campaign and fundraising drive to help the fight against child hunger. A donation website known as DaleJrSandwich.com was launched by Earnhardt to allow people to donate money that would directly benefit a national non-profit organization known as “Blessings in a Backpack.”

The charitable organization reportedly packs food for at-risk students that will more than likely go hungry over the weekends. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. creatively used Twitter to reference the banana and mayo sandwich along with the new campaign all within the same tweet.

The donation website will remain live online until April 23. That is also the same day that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Richmond International Raceway behind the wheel of the No. 99 Hellmann’s Chevrolet.

According to Feeding America, more than 15 million children in the United States lived in homes without consistent access to healthy and nutritious food options in 2014. Perhaps the viral buzz that started with the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sandwich tweet will go a long way towards reducing those types of statistics in the years to come.

[Image Credit: Sarah Crabill/Getty Images & Dale Earnhardt Jr Twitter]

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