Philanthropy Archives | Page 2 of 2 | Auto Remarketing

Companies pledge support to wildfire-ravaged community

When DealerSocket’s Sam Rizek heard about the devastating wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, early last month, he knew his company had to do something.

So the director of sales and business development in Canada helped hatch a plan to donate 100 percent of setup fees collected from the company’s Canadian clients during May to that country’s Red Cross.

“I sent a text message on a Saturday to Susie (Storey), my VP, and Matt (Redden), my CSO, and literally within minutes I got a text back from Matt saying, ‘Let’s do this.’ I thought there would be more of an approval process,” Rizek said during an interview with Auto Remarketing Canada.

Then he quickly asked if they could extend the effort through June. The answer, in an instant: Yes.

“Some of our vendors had done one-time donations,” Rizek said. “One time is great, but it’s more ‘one time.’ This we get to carry over and hopefully make dealers feel good about something they were going to do anyway, which was to pay setup fees to join with us.”

He noted that setup fees for the company’s myriad products range from $500 to $5,000. Based on previous years' setup fees and adjusting for some additional product lines, Rizek estimated DealerSocket would be donating $30,000 to $40,000 to the Red Cross.

Rizek stressed the widespread affect of the wildfire, which continues to burn and has displaced tens of thousands of people.

“All of Canada is really affected,” he said. “That’s the one thing about this tragedy vs. a lot of other ones that may occur. This one was in a pretty significant place in Canada because of what Fort McMurray represents to the economy in general because of the oil production there.

“I was reading the other day that the Canadian GDP was supposed to be up 1.5 percent this quarter,” Rizek continued. Because of this shutdown of oil fields, now the GDP will be down that amount. It’s something so significant that affects the whole country. It affects everything. Probably one of the widest-spread things that has occurred in Canada in a long time.”

Other auto companies are doing their part to aid victims.

In early May, Cox Automotive Canada and its Manheim Edmonton, vAuto, VinSolutions, Xtime, DealerTrack and NextGear Capital business units pledged their support to Fort McMurray in the form of a $30,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross.  

Cox Cares also said it would match employee donations to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal. Additionally, Manheim Auction locations across Canada were accepting new and gently used clothing and other donations to aid Fort McMurray evacuees.

And on May 20, The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation announced it was donating $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross.

Cox Automotive Canada supports wildfire victims

Cox Automotive Canada and its Manheim Edmonton, vAuto, VinSolutions, Xtime, DealerTrack and NextGear Capital business units have pledged their support to the wildfire-ravaged community of Fort McMurray, Alberta, in the form of a $30,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross.  

“Like all Canadians, we have seen the devastating images from Fort McMurray. We know that some of our employees have family and friends who have been affected and we have been moved by the resilience of the community and our thoughts are with them at this challenging time,” Maria Soklis, president of Cox Automotive Canada, said in a news release. “We hope that our partners in the automotive industry will join us in finding ways to raise funds to help the people of Fort McMurray.”

Cox Cares will also match employee donations to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal. Additionally, Manheim Auction locations across Canada will accept new and gently used clothing and other donations to aid Fort McMurray evacuees.

Industry partners who would like to help may contact Cheyanne Wall, Manheim Edmonton, at (780) 784-5555 or Cheyanne.wall@manheim.com.

TradeRev raises $5K for Red Door Family Shelter

TradeRev recently announced that it has raised a total of $5,306 for the Toronto-based Red Door Family Shelter.

The funds were raised during a TradeRev employee dinner, where the company collected donations via silent auction. All proceeds went to the Red Door Family Shelter, a charity which provides services for families and persons needing a safe and supportive emergency shelter.

The funds qualify TradeRev for an annual membership in the Bright Future Leadership Circle, where all proceeds go toward helping families affected by homelessness and abuse.

Mark Endras, TradeRev’s president and co-founder, spoke on the topic.

“Giving back is an important part of our culture at TradeRev and I am proud to work with employees who are so generous and passionate about giving back,” Endras said.

For more information on TradeRev, visit its site here.

Mercedes-Benz Toronto stores launch holiday toy drive

For the second year in a row, Mercedes-Benz Toronto corporate retail stores will be holding a toy drive which will run until Dec. 15.

This year, all unwrapped toys collected will be delivered on what the company has coined “Santa’s Sprinter” to the Toronto Fire Fighters Toy Drive, which has helped thousands of families celebrate Christmas over the years.

Santa Claus will also be making an appearance in support of the toy drive at participating dealerships across the Greater Toronto Area.

What will he be traveling in?

Well, his “Merry Metris” commercial van, of course.

"The employees from  the Mercedes-Benz Toronto Corporate Stores are passionate about giving back to the communities in which they operate and we know that the donated toys will make a difference for those in need," said Philipp Witzendorff, vice president and head of Toronto retail operations.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to put our retail facilities and our product, namely the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Metris commercial vans, to good use throughout the year and even more so during the festive season,” he said.

 In celebration of the giving season, Mercedes-Benz Toronto corporate stores have also  loaned a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van to the Toronto Fire Fighters Toy Drive for a three-month period to support their toy distribution logistics throughout the Greater Toronto Area.  

"We are extremely grateful that the Mercedes-Benz Toronto Corporate Stores have wholeheartedly embraced our cause once again this year by providing us the use of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter," said Ray Easby, executive director for the Toronto Fire Fighters Toy Drive. "The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter commercial van is an exceptionally versatile vehicle that has been instrumental in helping us achieve our very important holiday season mission."      

Santa Claus' dealership visit schedule is as follows:

Kia Canada gives back via ‘beautiful game’

Kia Canada is utilizing the world’s most popular and accessible sport, soccer, to help support underserved youth.

The company began its fifth annual Drive Change initiative on Friday, joining three Canadian Major League Soccer teams in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto to put on free soccer camps while also leveraging its 188 Canadian dealers and business partners to collect new and gently used soccer equipment for its National Equipment Drive.

All of this is to help underserved youth in their respective areas by helping them develop their soccer skills, gain confidence, have fun and gear up for the sport.

“Kia Canada is proud to continue supporting youth through the sport of soccer, providing the ability to participate in free clinics along with our partners while making a difference," said M.K. Kim, Kia Canada’s president and chief executive officer. "Kia dealers, including our employees and business partners, will also support underserved youth through our second annual national equipment drive providing them access to soccer in communities across Canada."

Donations can be made at Kia’s dealerships across Canada from now until Wednesday, September 30.

Kia, the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club and the Vancouver Police Department hosted a free, four-day Pee Wee Soccer School earlier in July, providing over 300 of the area’s local youth with access to the sport to develop their skills with the Whitecaps’ professionals as well as the volunteers from the VPD. Kia Canada also supported the VPD’s Soccer Cleat Program, which gives new soccer cleats to inner-city youth in the early fall to prepare for the upcoming season.

Kia also began its fourth KickStart event, along with the MLSE Foundation, at the Kia Training Ground last Thursday, opening up its eight-week soccer program in 15 Toronto Community Housing communities. More than 300 youth participated, ranging from ages 6 to 12.

Kia’s free clinic at the Saputo Stadium, in partnership with the Montreal Impact, was hosted on Monday, where Impact coaches and staff introduced the attendees to basic soccer drills.

For more information on Kia’s Drive Change endeavors, visit its site here.

OTDA Launches December ‘Wishmaker’ Initiative

The Ontario Toyota Dealers Association decided to celebrate the holiday season by granting a wish a day for the first 24 days of December. Coining it as the Wishmaker, OTDA plans on giving back to 24 Ontarians who were nominated on ToyotaWishmaker.ca.

The first recipient of a fulfilled holiday wish was Lhara Eben on Dec. 1, who teaches a Toronto-based program called Dancing With Parkinson’s. The gift will help Eben continue to provide free dance classes to people with Parkinson’s. According to the release, the power of movement has an impact on individuals with the disease, and Eben helps those with Parkinson’s connect their mind and body via dance.

Andy Caletti, OTDA’s president, believes the program is a wonderful way to contribute to the region.

“With 82 Toyota dealerships across the province, we meet incredible people every day, and we wanted to find a way to create a little holiday magic and spread cheer this December,” Caletti said. “Our Wishmaker is our way of celebrating Ontarians and giving back this holiday season.”

The campaign began on Nov. 15 when bloggers called out to their audiences, asking for nomination submissions of deserving Ontarians. OTDA encourages interested parties to continue submitting nominations via its website.

The campaign can be followed on Twitter via the #ToyotaWishmaker hashtag.

Quebec Subaru Dealers Support Special Olympics

Subaru Canada Inc. and the Quebec Subaru Dealers Association announced late last week they had collectively raised $50,000 for Special Olympics Quebec. In association with the Rinaldi Agency, the event, with “a gesture that makes a difference” theme, was hosted at the Club de golf Fontainebleau on Aug. 22.

Special Olympics Quebec, in operation for over 30 years, works to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities via the comradery of sport throughout all of the regions in its province.

Shiro Ohta, the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Subaru Canada, was thrilled by how much his organization raised to help enrich the Special Olympics organization in his company’s region.

“It’s outstanding that as a small group of participants, this gesture will positively impact the lives of many through Special Olympics Quebec,” Ohta said. “As part of our commitment to community involvement, our Quebec Subaru Dealers’ Association will be able to make a difference here in Quebec through our fundraising.”

In addition to Ohta, other Subaru Canada executives in attendance included Don Durst, senior vice president, Richard Fabien, the director for the Quebec and Atlantic region, as well as Richard Beaudry, the president of Ovation Medias and Maurice Rinaldi, the chief executive officer of Rinaldi Agency.