Chester County car dealers work to distribute winter coats for local needy kids, expecting to give out more than 5,000. Recently, they gathered to drop off a large donation: from left, Dave McQuiston, Roberts Chevrolet; Jim Sapala, Kia of Coatesville; Kyle Wolff, Piazza Acura of West Chester; Angela Brown, Piazza Acura of West Chester; Phil Moore, Roberts Chevrolet; Melanie Laird, Piazza Acura of West Chester; Michael Ciarlone, Brian Hoskins Ford; and Jonn Lohr, Brian Hoskins Ford.
The Foundation delivered more than 4,000 new winter coats in Chester County on Oct. 10, to two area YMCA associations, the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley and the YMCA of the Upper Main Line. Driving Away the Cold partners with local YMCAs and other social service organizations to distribute coats to kids in need. By the end of October, the program will donate a total of 5,580 new coats in Chester County specifically.
Started in 2008 by the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation, Driving Away the Cold is a philanthropic initiative that focuses on keeping children warm by providing brand-new winter coats to kids who need them most. The new winter coats are raised during a special month-long campaign titled We Pledge. Participating dealerships donate a coat to a child every time a vehicle is sold on-site during September. Since the program’s inception, the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation and its dealer members have warmed the bodies and souls of nearly 178,000 underprivileged children living in the Greater Philadelphia region.
Of the 172 dealerships that participated in this year’s program, 31 are located in Chester County including Roberts Chevrolet; Kia of Coatesville; Piazza Acura of West Chester and Brian Hoskins Ford.
The Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Auto Show. Established in 2003, the Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) public charity, annually contributes funding and resources to worthwhile child-related programs and causes throughout the Greater Philadelphia five-county region. Its missionis to enhance and enrich the lives of children and youth in the communities in which its dealer members work and live, by providing access to and supporting excellence in the institutions and programs that serve local children. For more information, please visit www.caringforkids.com.
