Chrysler dealerships donating $25,000 to charities chosen by public
The Holiday season is here, and the local Chrysler dealership is right in the spirit of giving. Caledon Chrysler has joined forces with its sister dealership North York Chrysler to announce that once again this year, $25,000 will be donated to charity.
The two charities will be benefitting from this, and they will be selected by a public vote through the dealerships. Until 
Dec. 31, everyone is invited to vote on which charity they are most passionate about by going to either www.caledonchrysler.com/charity.htm or www.northyorkchrysler.com/charity.htm The charity receiving the most votes will get $15,000 and the second most voted charity will gain $10,000. Last year marked the first time these dealerships had ever donated such a large amount at a single time, and they are thrilled to be in a position to do it all again. The people at North York Chrysler report this has been a great year for them. They are grateful to the public for their support, and in recognition, they are giving back to the charities they care most about. Last year, the two dealerships were humbled by the outpouring of support they received for their efforts, as well as by the determination that many of the smaller charities had in tackling their challenges head-on. They reached out to their supporters who came out in full force and 2, 838 votes later, the top-two voted charities were announced. The Redwood Women’s Shelter was the recipient of the first place donation last year, receiving $15,000. “This wonderful gift from North York Chrysler helped to fund The Redwood’s outreach services — Young Women on the Move Leadership program (YWOTM),” Wendy Bray, fundraising manager at Redwood, said. “In this program, eight young women, with lived experiences in the shelter and family abuse histories, built confidence, self-esteem, communication and leadership skills. They took the skills they learned and held workshops at their schools.” Redwood is a full-service shelter, offering refuge, counselling for women and children, support for women to get jobs and more. The charity with the second largest number of votes was Participation House, in Markham. “Your campaign enabled us to purchase specially designed chairs that go into our swimming pool and make mobility much easier for our residents,” Frances DiCarlo, executive director of Participation House, commented. “In addition to this purchase, your generous donation assisted with completing
the renovations to a fully accessible washroom/change room for our community clients that attend our day programs.” Participation House is a facility that aims to enhance the quality of life of individuals with disabilities through services designed to reflect individualized approaches, community involvement and a respect for human dignity. Other charities in the running include: • Caledon Community Services, a multi-service organization that assists members of the community with everything from youth and senior services to helping job seekers, small business advice, help for new Canadians and more; • Make-A-Wish, granting magical wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich their life experience with hope, strength and joy;
• Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in support of their charity work which includes animal cruelty investigation, care, sheltering, fostering and wildlife programs for abused or injured animals; • Angel Foundation for Learning, assisting students in the Toronto District Catholic School board through its nutritional, educational, social and emergency support programs; • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel, which makes a positive difference in the lives of youth by providing mentoring programs; • The Hospital for Sick Children, dedicated to improving the health of children by striving to provide the best in family-centred, compassionate care, leading in scientific and clinical advancement, and preparing the next generation of leaders in child health; • Free the Children, which focuses on empowering communities to lift themselves out of poverty through their holistic, sustainable international development model, Adopt a Village; • Family Transition Place, providing services to women and children who have experienced abuse; • Evergreen Hospice Thornhill, which provides community-based supportive services to individuals and their families in Markham, Stouffville and Thornhill, who are living with life-threatening illness or coping with the death of a loved one; • Salvation Army, which provides Canadians living in poverty with food, shelter and clothing to support them at their time of need; • The Canadian Cancer Society, continuing the fight to eradicate cancer and works to enhance of the quality of life of people living with the disease; • The Heart and Stroke Foundation, which provides heart-healthy information to Canadians and funds research into heart and stroke disease prevention and treatments; and • The North York Harvest Food Bank, which aims to meet the food needs of northern Toronto by providing dignified food assistance, education and long-term food solutions. Caledon Chrysler and North York Chrysler have created a public voting system enabling everyone to vote for the charity closest to their heart. Voting is underway now and will continue until the end of the year. During the first week of January, they will announce which two charities received the most votes, and their representatives will be invited to collect their cheques at one of the dealerships. To place your vote, visit www.northyorkchrysler.com/charity.htm or www.caledonchrysler.com/charity.htm Written by Bill Rea
