North Alabama’s Kate O’Neal Named NASCAR Foundation’s 2025 Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award Winner

Mark White | The Mark White Show

Madison, AL - Today, we’re celebrating a major victory for a North Alabama difference maker and a big win for children across our area.

Kate O’Neal, founder and president of The Caring Link, has been named the 2025 NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award winner. This national honor brings both recognition and a $100,000 award to strengthen her organization’s mission of serving children and families in need.

I had the privilege of speaking with Kate shortly after the announcement to talk about what this means for her, for The Caring Link, and for our community.

A Moment She’ll Never Forget

“When they started describing the winner, I honestly didn’t realize they were talking about me,” Kate laughed. “One of the other nominees actually had to point at me and say, ‘It’s you!’ I was in total shock. When my name was finally called, it was just pure joy, not just for me, but for everyone back home who helped make this possible.”

For Kate, that moment represented more than a personal honor. It was a victory for every volunteer, teacher, parent, and child who has been part of The Caring Link’s mission.

How The Caring Link Is Changing Lives

The Caring Link serves public school students throughout Madison County by establishing Care Closets right on school campuses. These closets provide children with brand new clothes, shoes, toiletries, school supplies, and comfort items, the same things we all want our own children to have.

“When a child’s basic needs are met,” Kate explained, “they can focus on learning and growing. We want schools to be places where students feel cared for and supported, not just academically, but personally.”

How the $100,000 Will Be Used

The NASCAR Foundation award will allow The Caring Link to expand its reach and deepen its impact:

• Fund two brand new Care Closets at Madison County Elementary and Harvest Elementary

• Support the New Beginnings Back-to-School Program, which provides clothes, shoes, school supplies, haircuts, and wellness screenings for students

• Strengthen the Huntsville Resource Center that helps manage more than 25 existing Care Closets

• Fund extracurricular and enrichment opportunities so students can grow beyond crisis situations and discover new possibilities

  
  

“This award is going to help so many children start school with confidence,” Kate said. “It’s truly life-changing for our organization.”

A Community Victory

Kate is quick to remind everyone that this wasn’t her victory alone.

“This was a Caring Link and Madison County victory,” she said. “It was churches announcing it, workplaces sending out emails, schools putting up posters, and people voting every single day. We won because of every person who took a moment to care, this award belongs to them.”

Since the national spotlight, The Caring Link has seen more volunteers, more drives, and more local businesses stepping up to host collections for snacks, clothing, and supplies.

“Those connections are invaluable,” Kate said. “We’re 100% volunteer-run, and this experience has shown just how strong our community really is.”

Carrying Forward a Legacy

The award’s namesake, Betty Jane France, built her own legacy of caring for children through The NASCAR Foundation.

“To be connected to her name is an incredible honor,” Kate shared. “Meeting her daughter and hearing about her mother’s life’s work, it reminded me that we’re all called to use what we have to help others. That’s what this is really about.”

How You Can Help

The Caring Link continues to grow and so does the need for volunteers and support.

“You can visit TheCaringLink.org to learn more,” Kate said. “We need hands to stock closets, groups to host donation drives, and people to simply spread the word. Every act of kindness links us closer together.”

As Kate O’Neal and her team keep proving, when a community comes together to care, everyone wins.

Congratulations to Kate O’Neal and The Caring Link on this incredible achievement and thank you for continuing to make a difference in the lives of children across North Alabama and beyond.