Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation Kicks-Off Driving Away the Cold Month on October 1st

E. NORRITON, Pa., Sept. 30, 2008 - The Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation, along with approximately 115 of its dealer members, will host its first-ever Driving Away the Cold month this October. The program was developed to help the thousands of less fortunate children that are living in the Greater Philadelphia area without daily essentials like a warm winter coat. Driving Away the Cold is a signature program of the Foundation and Operation Warm, an organization that provides coats to underprivileged children throughout Pennsylvania, as well as nationwide.

“When we first learned about Operation Warm and what it was doing in Pennsylvania, we knew we wanted to get involved immediately,” said Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Foundation and Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia. “Therefore, we donated 10,000 coats on behalf of the entire Foundation earlier this year and then created a sub-program for our dealers to participate in because they wanted to get involved on a grassroots level and continue the giving.”

The participating dealers of Driving Away the Cold month will proudly donate an additional brand new winter coat to an underprivileged child when a vehicle is sold at their dealership in October. These new winter coats will be distributed through Operation Warm and different beneficiaries throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.

“A new winter coat truly warms the hearts of the individuals who receive it,” said Kim Fremont Fortunato, president of Operation Warm. “For many, this new winter coat will be the first item of new clothing ever given to them. And, we strongly believe that the new coats will help to prevent the social isolation these kids feel about themselves and their unsolicited poverty.”

The auto dealers registered to participate in Driving Away the Cold month are located throughout the five-county region of Philadelphia.