Dealers Doing Good, Giving Back To Their Communities

As we scour the world of news to find dealer-centric stories, we have found a lot of headlines about what dealers are doing for others as we approach Christmas. Thus, we decided to create a small collection of a few of the recent stories involving dealers doing good.

One of the dealers doing good this time of year is Corwin Ford out of Nampa, Idaho. The Ford dealership made a donation this December for $185,000 to local charities in surrounding Canyon County. Tanner Corwin, owner of Corwin Ford spoke about the charity outreach in a statement saying, “These organizations provide essential services and education to our local kids, keeping them healthy, safe, and secure. We’re very fortunate to be able to make these contributions and support the work they do to create better futures for area children and families.”

Switching gears to the great state of Montana, Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM of Great Falls gave $5,000 to Vets 4 Vets, an organization, which helps veterans. The check was presented to the nonprofit group at Lithia Chrysler and one of the leaders of the veteran group says the donation will make a large impact. The donation will help in part with a event the veterans group puts on each fall called the “Stand-Down.”

The dealership reportedly built up the $5,000 by donating proceeds on vehicles sold during the month of November. Brian Belderrain, the GM at Lithia Chrysler told KRTV, “We are blessed to live in a community that we have and there is a lot of people in the community that need help. It’s a part of our duty and we are honored to service the vets and help out.”

Moving onto the largest dealer group in the USA, we have AutoNation. At the first ever AutoNation Cure bowl, the dealer group presented a check for $1 million to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. In a press release put out by AutoNation, the group notes that since 2013 the group raised and donated $6 million for cancer related charities and research.

Finally, Todd Edwards Subaru of Council Bluffs, Iowa is trying to make the most of the Subaru “Share The Love Event.” From November 17 through January 2, 2015 Subaru will donate $250 for every new Subaru sold toward a charity of the dealership’s choosing. Edwards Subaru chose Heartland Family Services. The dealership gave the organization $14,000 in 2014. Dealer Principal Todd Edwards told local publication Daily NonPareil, “We’re a blue-collar town, and honestly I think there are a lot of people who need help in this area… There are people who get hooked on drugs at an early age, who want to wean themselves off drugs, and Heartland supports those people. They do a lot of things for families who have problems with finding proper housing. We have seen that impact.”

What impact are dealers making in your surrounding community? This could mean your store or a neighboring dealership or group. What have you seen lately in the category of “dealers doing good?”