Car Pros Automotive Group made back to school a lot better for kids in Southern California and Western Washington.

The dealership group’s charitable arm, Car Pros Cares, last month held its second annual Back-to-School Supply Drive, collecting and distributing school supplies to students.

Donation boxes at Car Pros’ nine dealerships collected 12,142 items for local K-12 students from Aug. 1-20, the company said, a 35% increase from last year’s inaugural drive. Those items included backpacks, binders, notebooks, calculators, rulers, pens, markers, crayons, folders and water bottles to help ease the financial burden for families.

Each dealership partnered with a local school or organization to make sure donations supported the children most in need.

Car Pros managers, executives and staff personally delivered the donated supplies during the last week of August to local schools and nonprofits, including Arlington Elementary and KidVantage NW in Washington, and Waymakers Huntington Beach Youth Shelter, Aldama Elementary School, El Monte School District, Serrano Elementary and Lillian Street Elementary in California.

“Supporting the communities we serve is core to our mission at Car Pros,” CEO Matthew Phillips said. “We’re proud to see this year’s Back-to-School Supply Drive grow by more than a third compared to last year, and even prouder knowing these supplies in some cases filled critical gaps caused by budget challenges, and helped students walk into the classroom ready to learn. I want to thank our Car Pros team members, customers and vendors for their compassion and generosity.”

Car Pros Cares’ initiatives have included Thanksgiving food drives, holiday toy donations and sock drives benefiting organizations such as Heart of Los Angeles. Since 2021, Car Pros said, Car Pros Cares has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local nonprofits, including the Downtown Women’s Center of Los Angeles, the Salvation Army of Long Beach and the Watts Labor Community Action Committee.

Grand reopening for DARCARS Lexus of Silver Spring

DARCARS Lexus of Silver Spring held a grand reopening celebration Friday, following a multi-million-dollar construction and renovation project that DARCARS said reflects the dealership group’s long-term investment in Montgomery County and the surrounding community.

The company said the upgraded facility represents a major reinvestment in the Silver Spring community, with a “modern, customer-focused dealership designed to deliver an elevated Lexus experience.”

The event, hosted by John and Jamie Darvish and the DARCARS Lexus of Silver Spring team, included state and local government leaders, business community representatives and Lexus leadership, with Maryland comptroller Brooke Lierman as a special guest speaker, recognizing the significance of business investment and economic growth in Montgomery County.

“Silver Spring has been home to our Lexus store for many years, and this project reflects the importance of investing back into the community that has supported us,” the Darvishes said in a news release. “We are proud to bring a one-of-a-kind facility to Montgomery County and honored to share this milestone with our neighbors, partners and customers.”

The ceremony was capped with a ribbon cutting, followed by tours of the new facility and lunch.