E. Norriton, Pa., November 10, 2008 – The Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation will host closing ceremonies for its first-ever Driving Away the Cold program on November 12th at 10:15a.m. at its headquarters in East Norriton. Dozens of local auto dealers will be on-site to prepare and deliver more than 1,000 boxes filled with brand new winter coats to the program’s beneficiaries, including area social services agencies, church groups, YMCAs and more. These respective beneficiaries will then distribute the coats to those families in need. The exact coat donation total for 2008 will be announced at the event using the help of two oversized children figurines each wearing a giant coat replica.
Driving Away the Cold is a signature program of the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation and Delaware County-based Operation Warm. The program focuses on one simple but very important issue—providing brand new winter coats to underprivileged children in the Philadelphia region.
“More than 2.7 million children in Pennsylvania alone are living without daily essentials like a warm winter coat, which has been noted as one of the most requested items by schools and social services agencies in the Philadelphia area,” said Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Foundation. “Therefore, when we learned of these numbers and the growing need in our region specifically, we decided to get involved immediately.”
Last January, the Foundation kicked off its Driving Away the Cold program with a donation of 10,000 coats for Operation Warm to distribute this fall. In an effort to continue the giving, 116 local auto dealers pledged one additional coat when a vehicle was sold at their dealership during the month of October. At this special event on November 12th, the combined donation total from both efforts will be announced.
“We are overjoyed with the amount of support given to this program by our dealer members, especially in these tough economic times,” added Mazzucola. “Similar to other businesses, our dealers have experienced a lesser amount of success over the last several weeks. However, like many, the thought of a child not having a warm winter coat during the cold months in our region is unconscionable to them and they are committed to doing something about it. It has been an honor to work with Operation Warm and the beneficiaries during this special program and we hope to continue to raise awareness of this very important cause.”
Operation Warm possesses the vision that every child wearing a winter coat is healthy, able to attend school regularly and has strong self-esteem. To learn more, please visit www.operationwarm.org.
Driving Away the Cold Wrap Up Release
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