Having children of their own and foster kids, Harold and Kelly Mason are passionate about helping youth.

That was the idea behind opening Racin’ Mason Pizza & Fun Zone on the far east side of Seymour five years ago.

“I want something for these kids to have, something to go do,” Harold said. “You can come out here and have a good time, chase your brothers and sisters around, ride go-karts, whatever. Have fun.”

At their first location at Shops at Seymour, they were all about being “that fun place” for kids and families.

Moving into their new building at 369 Tanger Blvd., the mission is still the same.

Coming up on their one-year anniversary there, the Masons came up with a fundraiser to help … you guessed it, kids. Foster kids, in particular.

Karts for Kids is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in the foster care system through an exciting and engaging go-kart tournament. By hosting this annual event, Racin’ Mason aims to raise funds, awareness and support for the foster care community while providing a fun and competitive experience for participants.

The mission is to make a positive impact on the lives of these children, offering them a chance to experience joy, build confidence and create lasting memories, and the vision is a future where every foster care child has access to a supportive and nurturing environment that enables them to thrive.

The first Karts for Kids fundraiser is Sept. 30 at Racin’ Mason. Starting at noon, teams of eight will race each other. The top four will be set aside. Then the next team of eight will race. Again, the top four will be set aside.

Once all teams have raced, they will start back at the top, and those top four on each team will challenge another foursome. The top two will move on.

“I don’t want it to just be a race that ends in one day,” Harold said. “I want it to be an ongoing competition, and you can bring eight people and say, ‘Hey, let’s go to Racin’ Mason. Let’s get in this.’ We want to just keep doing that because these foster kids keep coming. It isn’t just a one-day thing. We might not get all of the racers in one day, so if we don’t, then we’re going to go on to the next Saturday.”

The cost to enter is $30 per person. The event will take place on the outdoor go-kart track. If it’s raining, it will be on the indoor track.

Participants and spectators are encouraged to bring suitcases and any other items, such as hygiene products, underwear and school supplies, that could be placed in them for foster kids. Backpacks and duffel bags will be accepted, too.

Harold said those items can be dropped off any time during regular business hours, too.

“Whenever the cops go take them out of the house in the middle of the night, they’ve got a suitcase, where they will have a clean pair of underwear, a clean toothbrush, some hygiene products,” he said. “Kelly and I used to get foster kids, and that’s when we got them was right when they come out of the houses, and it was hard.”

Many times, foster kids may have a small amount of belongings in a bag as they move from one house to another.

“They came to our house with a garbage bag or a Walmart bag, and it was heartbreaking,” Harold said. “We would spend our own money and went and got them what they needed. That’s what makes us want to help these other kids.”

Any monetary donations will be used to buy suitcases and supplies for foster kids.

“We’d like to put a suitcase in every cop car, every officer in town have one, every deputy sheriff have one in their car. It’s usually a lot of deputy sheriffs are the ones doing it, so I want to be able to give that up,” Harold said.

Along with having this go-kart tournament on an annual basis, Karts for Kids plans to raise funds to support foster care programs, including educational resources, mentorship and recreational activities.

While the focus is on raising funds to help foster kids with the upcoming event, it’s also an opportunity for the Masons to showcase their new building.

Harold built it from the ground up in about a year’s time. Part of the building is an old turkey barn from Montgomery, and several of the features inside are from the now-closed Incrediplex in Indianapolis.

“I sat down on the ground right over there in the corner on a 5-gallon bucket and had a piece of paper and I drew out what I was going to do,” Harold said. “(Local architect) Dave Correll came out and looked at everything and said, ‘I don’t see a problem with what you’ve got going on. We’ll see if we can get it through the board stuff,’ so he helped me do it. I saved a lot of money doing it this way.”

The arcade grew to more than 40 games, black light golf was redesigned, laser tag and go-karts were upgraded and bumper cars and bounce houses are still there.

New features include a cannon blaster, a virtual reality room and a laser maze. They also have a pool table from the former Rok-Sey roller skating rink in Seymour.

Racin’ Mason also now has three party rooms that can be rented. Plus, it has expanded the food menu, added a full bar and included seating areas on both sides of the bar. Harold is proud of his veterans wall that features veterans license plates from all 50 states and an American flag that flew over the Pentagon.

Along with the go-kart track outside, there are new amusement rides available.

“We have a year-round fair here,” Kelly said, smiling.

The Masons like their new location because it offers better visibility. That was a big part of why they chose to move.

“We had a lot of wasted space at the other place because there were offices and dressing rooms (withing the shopping center suites). Here, we’re utilizing every bit of space we can,” Kelly said.

Harold said they put their heart and soul into the new building.

“I’ve told him many times that I just look around and I’m just amazed at his vision because I don’t have the vision,” Kelly said. “He’s the visionary. He can see something before it’s built. I can’t. I just kept looking around in amazement, just ‘I can’t believe you did this.’ I’m real proud of him for doing that.”

If you go

What: Karts for Kids go-kart tournament to benefit foster care kids

When: Starts at noon Sept. 30

Where: Racin’ Mason Pizza & Fun Zone, 369 Tanger Blvd., Seymour

Cost: $30 per person

Information: Call 812-524-1000 or find the business on Facebook