Charity Cars campaign goes national

It has often been said that the automotive aftermarket doesn’t fix cars – it fixes lives. Consumers don’t walk through a shop’s doors because their cars are broken; they go because technicians can solve their problems. At a press conference during Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper announced a national campaign to further this mission.

“We’ve all talked about improving the image of the professional service dealer,” says Richard H. Morgan, president and CEO of Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc., parent company to Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper. “I’ve been in this business 46 years and never seen anything like this.”

Last December, we reported on a regional effort spearheaded by Phill Porpora, president of AutoWares of Illinois and an Alliance member, who awarded 100 refurbished cars to victims of domestic violence in the Chicago area. For 2007, The Alliance announced it will build on that program and create a national vehicle donation campaign to give victims of domestic violence a new sense of freedom.

The entire group of Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper shareholders, along with hundreds of parts stores and certified service centers, has partnered with the original 1-800 Charity Cars organization (Charity Cars, Inc. a 501-C-3 nonprofit charity, FED ID #59-3362703) that was organized last year and provided vehicles for domestic abuse victims in the Chicago area. The 2007 program will secure and refurbish more than 500 vehicles to be presented to qualified recipients at ceremonies scheduled in various locations across the nation next year.

Each group in the distribution channel — warehouses, parts stores and service centers — will play their own pivotal role: Certified service centers will provide the labor needed to repair and refurbish the donated vehicles, and the warehouses and parts stores will furnish the necessary replacement parts. All three groups will help solicit vehicle donations from their customers. 1-800 Charity Cars will handle the vehicle donation process.

Steve Marks, senior vice president, Marketing and Advertising for The Alliance, thanked the entire organization for its 100 percent participation from the membership, as well as from their vendor partners who have also pledged support: 3M, ASC Industries, Dayco Rubber Products, Dorman Products, East Penn Manufacturing, Exide Technologies, Federal-Mogul, Gates Rubber, Goodyear, Monroe Auto Equipment, Morse Brake, Proliance, Standard Motor Products, Valvoline Oil and WIX Filters.

“I’m so very proud of our entire membership for supporting this program and lending a helping hand. So many times people want to pull themselves up but just don’t have the means — no transportation or no money to get transportation,” says Morgan. “This car giveaway will help families within each community rebuild their lives and start fresh. There’s no better feeling than being a part of that.”

Dale Leigh, 2007 campaign chairman and a contributing editor to our sister publication, Motor Age, notes: “The program restores independence to those who choose not to be victims anymore. For our neighbors, it is a hand up, not a hand out. When we say we’re good neighbors, we mean it.”

Visit www.800charitycars.org to learn more.