OP Artist Jeffrey Owen Hanson Up for Humanitarian Award

Overland Park artist Jeffrey Owen Hanson is a finalist for the NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award—which comes with a $100,000 donation to the winner’s favorite charity.

hansonHanson, a past winner of the SBA Region VII Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, has been painting since he was 12, when he was undergoing chemotherapy. The 22-year-old has an optic nerve tumor as a result of neurofibromatosis, which impairs his eyesight.

More than 100 nonprofits have auctioned off his work, and his pieces have been purchased by celebrities such as Warren Buffett, Elton John and Susan Sarandon. His work has generated more than $1 million for charitable groups.

You can vote for Hanson once a day for the France Humanitarian Award by visiting this website. The deadline is Dec. 3. If he wins the top prize, the donation will go to the Children’s Tumor Foundation. (At a minimum, the NASCAR Foundation will donate $25,000 as a result of Hanson being named a finalist.)

“It is an amazing honor to receive this recognition by the NASCAR Foundation,” Hanson said. “But what is even more special to me is that this honor means many more children will be helped by the Children’s Tumor Foundation. It is for those children who are facing significant challenges that I ask for your vote.”