Wilson Automotive dealerships have always been committed to positive social impact, community engagement, and charitable giving. Therefore, when Covid19 started to shut down the states where we do business, we determined to continue to be the support system our customers, charity partners and the community have always, known us to be!
Hunger and homelessness are not taking a vacation this summer. During this national emergency, we needed to find ways to safeguard our dealerships, support our employees, and help our communities.
Right Toyota and Right Honda partnered with a local church on a fundraising page to help various community projects. In the first week $1,000 was donated on line, hundreds of snacks and kid’s board games were dropped off, and requests for assistance began to pour in to the dealerships.
Destination Hope is a California based group that has been organizing meals for the homeless long before Covid-19. When the pandemic hit, food and supply donations came to a standstill. Volunteers were scrambling to get basic items like bread, water, hand sanitizer and, of course, toilet paper. We also received an urgent call for help from the OC Rescue Mission. Their food supplies were dwindling rapidly, and they desperately needed non-perishable items for the families they serve.
The Wilson dealerships hit the ground running. Within a few weeks they organized a food drive and assembled 300 snack packs, 20 cases of water, dozens of loaves of fresh-baked bread, 50 backpacks full of hygiene items, and nearly 6 truckloads of non-perishable food items. An Arizona resident donated 200 facemasks and cases of hand sanitizer.
Several dealerships organized “meal trains” in safe parking lots where families could pick up sterile, packaged meals freshly prepared by local chefs or our own employees.
Right Toyota and Right Honda have partnered with Victory Life Church to offer pop-up, drive-thru donations of food boxes through the Farmers to Families food program. Local farmers and ranchers donate meat, produce and dairy products to local organizations that pack and deliver food boxes to those in need.
We are also partnering with Cloud Covered Streets to provide face masks, sanitizer, new tennis shoes (donated by Vans), jeans and toiletries to the homeless.
Toyota of Huntington Beach partners with local restaurants to purchase food and provide 40 – 50 free lunches for homeless families a couple of times a week. What a great way to support struggling local businesses, and provide meals for Orange County’s least, last and often forgotten.
If you would like to be involved in any of the projects our stores sponsor, please contact one of us (email addresses below). There is always a need; and there is nothing more rewarding than helping those in need. As Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get – but we make a life by what we give.”
Vikki Murphy: vikkimurphy@drivewilson.com
Jeanette Rivera: jeanetterivera@drivewilson.com
Jane D’Amelio: jtenaglia@righttoyota.com
Gina Paramo: gparamo@toyotaofhb.com
