Atlanta Beats Covid, or ABC, includes volunteer makers, engineers, fabricators, seamsters, and other “Southeast industry experts.”
That group works to provide healthcare providers and other Atlanta community members with the necessary personal protective equipment, or PPE, that they need to stay safe while fighting COVID-19.
From Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, Jim Ellis Automotive Group in Atlanta led a group-wide Labor Day Sales Event event with a portion of the new and pre-owned vehicle sales proceeds going toward ABC.
The event resulted in a collective donation of $35,000 to that organization.
The donation supports ABC’s mission of providing PPE to Atlanta community teachers and special needs students.
After the Sept. 9 donation presentation, Jim Ellis says ABC has manufactured and distributed 19,268 PPE items to Centennial High School, River Eves Elementary, Esther Jackson Elementary, Woodstock Elementary, Mountain Road Elementary, Chamblee Middle School, and Teasley Middle School.
That resulted in the following donations: 3,870 face shields, 3,072 bottles of hand sanitizer, 10,634 masks and 1,692 sanitizing wipes.
"We are humbled to make this donation to Atlanta Beats Covid and thank them for their fabulous work on helping those in our community have face shields and face masks that will help keep them safe during this challenging time," Jim Ellis Automotive Group president Jimmy Ellis said in a news release.
Ellis continued, “Our hope with this donation is that together, we can really support Atlanta Beats Covid with their efforts to purchase more materials so they can continue making supplies that our community, particularly our teachers and educators, desperately need."
Jim Ellis Automotive Group said schools or districts do not commonly provide educators or students with face shields, masks and other items “deemed essential for a potentially vulnerable environment.”
In addition, the group wrote, because of a nationwide shortage and shipping delays, educators and staff might experience difficulty in obtaining PPE for themselves.
ABC says the Jim Ellis Automotive Group donation will continue helping ABC fulfill the PPE requests from principals and administrators.
Jim Ellis Automotive Group president Jimmy Ellis says his company is aware that many U.S. food banks are struggling to provide food relief to millions of people.
The company this past May held its first At-Home Memorial Day Sales Event. At that virtual sales event, the automotive group would donate a portion of the proceeds of all new or pre-owned vehicles to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
The company made a collective donation of $35,000 for the food bank. All 18 Jim Ellis family-owned-and-operated dealerships participated in the holiday promotion.
“It gives me and my team great pleasure to make this donation to the Atlanta Community Food Bank,” Ellis said in a news release.
Ellis added, “We are honored to be able to give back in this time of need.”
Keeping customers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic while raising money to fight food insecurity in Georgia were the goals of this year’s online sales event.
Prospective car buyers were able to shop, compare and choose from vehicles, schedule at-home test drives, configure financing, and get home delivery. The company said that helped those who were homebound during the shelter-at-home mandate.
Jim Ellis Automotive Group reported that the pandemic has resulted in severe food shortages for many Georgia communities. The company added that food security will continue to be a major challenge with more than 30 million Americans unemployed.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta Community Food Bank has seen a 30% to 40% increase in demand for food assistance. Through nearly 700 nonprofit partners, the food bank helps bring healthy food to more than 755,000 people each year.
“The proceeds of the Jim Ellis At-Home Memorial Day Sales Event will greatly help to support Atlanta Community Food Bank's emergency food distributions and the one in seven Georgians who are food insecure,” the automotive group stated.
Miracle Toyota in Haines City, Fla. of the Murphy Auto Group recently invited the local police and fire departments to receive GTECH sanitization for their vehicles at no charge.
That is just one way that Michael Dennis Murphy and his Murphy dealerships have given back to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also distributed thousands of meals and masks and eliminated medical debt in the Central Savannah River Area ( a region of Georgia and South Carolina).
Murphy Auto Group says it sourced GTECH Clean Complete Germ Protection as a sanitization option to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including coronavirus. Miracle Toyota sanitized hundreds of cars for the Haines City Fire Department, the Polk County Sheriff's Department in Florida, and medical professionals from Advent Hospital. During April, the dealership also provided free oil changes for first responders.
Murphy, working in partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay and Golden Harvest Food Bank in the CSRA, helped CSRA and Polk County families in need by donating and distributing 11,000 complete meals.
The auto group also donated 10,000 masks to the community in Haines City, Fla. and the CSRA via VA hospitals, churches, and local charities. During weekends in May, the dealerships also gave away four masks per family.
Also through a partnership with New York-based non-profit RIP Medical Debt Relief, Murphy Auto Group paid off $1.5 million in medical debt for more than 500 families in the CSRA. Several CSRA local families will receive notification from RIP Medical that $1.5 million of medical debt will be wiped out through the Murphy Auto Group donations.
Murphy Auto Group will continue its commitment to the community. It will introduce the Community Relaunch Program to the CSRA this month. That program highlights local businesses on the Murphy Auto Group social media channels as they reopen in the market.
The company says it has long supported community initiatives, military organizations, humanitarian missions, and higher learning institutions.
“As we reopen, we want to support our local businesses and community,” Murphy Auto Group wrote in a news release. “We are stronger in this together.”
Toyota/Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association board president Ed Fitzpatrick says that because of the coronavirus pandemic, many families are “vulnerable and in a state of economic instability.”
Because of that, the association, which represents the needs of minority dealers within Toyota and Lexus, is working with The Salvation Army to fill the pantries of families in need during the crisis.
TLMODA dealers and The Salvation Army on Friday will distribute more than 4,800 packages in 24 communities throughout the country.
Toyota and Lexus dealership staff during TLMODA's National COVID-19 Day of Service will distribute grocery boxes of non-perishable items. The boxes include items such as cereal and canned goods to help feed a family of four for a week.
Local Salvation Army teams will pack and assemble items for the grocery boxes in accordance with safety guidelines from local, state and federal health officials.
The Salvation Army is instructing families in need of food to pick up their grocery box at a participating Toyota or Lexus dealership. To maintain social distance protocols, boxes will be placed in the trunk of each family’s vehicle on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies are exhausted. To qualify for a grocery box, all families must contact their local Salvation Army.
"Across the country, the economic impact of this pandemic continues to impact families, both those who were already experiencing the challenges of poverty, and some who are experiencing them for the first time," Salvation Army national commander David Hudson said in a news release.
Hudson continued, “We are extremely grateful for the support of organizations like TLMODA so we can continue to meet the evolving needs of the most vulnerable.”
“The COVID-19 Day of Service represents the TLMODA members’ collective compassion and responsibility to give back to the community,” TLMODA’s Fitzpatrick said.
TLMODA COVID-19 Day of Service dealerships locations include:
Alabama: Lexus of Huntsville
Arizona: Sierra Toyota
California: Coliseum Lexus of Oakland; Tracy Toyota
Colorado: Lexus of Colorado Springs
Florida: South Dade Toyota, Homestead; Toyota of Fort Walton Beach; Treasure Coast Toyota of Stuart
Georgia: Chatham Parkway Toyota, Savannah
Idaho: Teton Toyota, Idaho Falls
Illinois: Advantage Toyota of River Oaks, Calumet City
Indiana: Lexus of Mishawaka
Massachusetts: Lexus of Northborough
North Carolina: Classic Toyota of Wilkesboro,
Oklahoma: Toyota of Ardmore
Pennsylvania: North Hills Toyota, Pittsburgh
Texas: Brownsville Toyota; Lost Pines Toyota, Bastrop; Mike Shaw Toyota, Corpus Christi; Toyota of Cedar Park; Toyota of Rockwall;
Virginia: Gloucester Toyota
Vermont: Faith’s Toyota Ford, Westminster
Washington: Marysville Toyota
Audi Atlanta, Audi Marietta and Volvo Cars of Marietta — working with local food service companies — have launched a community meal drive with a goal to help eradicate hunger for senior citizens and keep them safe from the novel Coronavirus.
The food relief efforts will also help feed frontline workers at several local hospitals and at Atlanta-area police and fire departments.
The three dealerships, part of the Jim Ellis family of dealerships, have launched the drive “to continue to do our part and serve our community, even in these difficult times,” said Tracie Maloney, vice president of Audi Atlanta, Audi Marietta and Volvo Cars of Marietta, in a news release.
The dealerships are working with local food service partners to provide prepared meals to first responders, medical workers and homebound seniors.
The food service partners are Bold Catering & Design, Old Vinings Inn, and Lovies BBQ, and the dealerships have pledged to match a meal for every meal purchased from the public.
Currently underway, the campaign will run until reaching the matching goal.
"We are working with a few of our very longtime, valuable clients and Meals on Wheels,” Maloney said.
Maloney continued, “The owners of Fifth Group Restaurants, Bold Catering and Design, Lovies BBQ and Old Vinings Inn have partnered with us to get meals to our local homebound seniors as well as frontline healthcare workers and first responders. We are proud to be able to help them keep their businesses going and serve a dire need in our community at the same time."
Bold Catering & Design is currently preparing meals for Meals on Wheels Atlanta, which is fighting senior hunger and supporting the vulnerable senior neighbors during the crisis.
The dealerships are inviting the public to make a $10 contribution, which can provide two meals to local homebound seniors. Audi Atlanta, Audi Marietta, or Volvo Cars of Marietta will match those donations for the first 2,000 meals.
Audi Marietta and Volvo Cars of Marietta have also partnered with Old Vinings Inn, which is preparing and delivering a three-course meal to frontline healthcare workers at Wellstar Windy Hill Hospital.
The dealerships will match $15 donations for the first 240 meals.
To show their appreciation to first responders and healthcare workers, Lovies BBQ is currently cooking for them, and Audi Atlanta will match $10 donations from the public for the first 200 meals. Lovies BBQ will deliver 50 to 100 meals at a time to Piedmont, Emory, Northside, Atlanta Medical Center and the VA Hospitals.
The dealerships note that senior citizens, who are high-risk for contracting the virus, can also face challenges in accessing their meals. Recognizing that healthcare workers and first responders are sacrificing their safety and health to serve the frontline during the crisis, the dealerships are inviting the public to help seniors and frontline workers by visiting http://www.jimellis.com/meals.
One of the guiding principles of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies is to “go about doing good until there is too much good in the world.”
The company on Wednesday announced one of its initiatives to do good. LHM Group has started a public week-long, statewide food drive at its car dealerships, movie theaters and sports facilities.
LHM Group is doing that to support the Utah Food Bank. The campaign, called “Driven to Assist,” seeks to help address food insecurity conditions that have occurred as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The campaign begins today through May 6 at all 22 Larry H. Miller Dealerships locations in Utah. It is also taking place at 13 LHM Megaplex Theatres, at Vivint Smart Home Arena (home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz) and at Smith’s Ballpark (home of the Minor League Baseball team, the Salt Lake Bees). A list of the locations is available.
People can make donations between 2 and 6 p.m. each day (except Sunday, May 3) at drive-through locations. The adjacent Park Place will be used for donation drop-offs at Vivint Smart Home Arena and the North Parking Lot for Smith’s Ballpark.
LHM Group employees will serve as on-site staff while using appropriate Utah Department of Health social distancing and sanitization practices. That includes the wearing of face masks.
“We invite communities throughout the state to join us in assisting those who may be facing challenges during this unprecedented time,” LHM Group owner and chair Gail Miller said in a news release.
Miller also said she was impressed with Utah residents’ willingness to collaborate and serve others.
“Together, we can help fulfill a critical need for the Utah Food Bank and its partners,” Miller said.
Each “Driven to Assist” location will provide “thank you for the assist” items. To receive one thank you item per vehicle, a minimum of eight cans of food or equivalent value is required.
— At any of its Utah locations, each LHM automobile dealership will offer a $10 coupon for a lube, oil and filter change.
— Each Megaplex Theatre will provide a large tub of Megaplex popcorn, delivered via its curbside popcorn service.
— Smith’s Ballpark will provide a voucher for two tickets to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game.
— Vivint Smart Home Arena will provide a $10 online credit to the Utah Jazz Team Store.
With an emphasis on canned goods, donations must be non-perishable food items. Produce, meat, frozen food, bread, and items requiring refrigeration will not be accepted. Peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned tuna, chicken or beef, chili, SpaghettiOs, canned fruits, and other boxed meals are the most needed items.
The Utah Food Bank is also accepting cash donations, which can be made here or via Venmo to
@UtahFoodBank-Donations with the comment “Driven to Assist.”
