Community

Operation Kindness

• We were the adoption partner for older/larger dogs in their care.
• Our donation covered adoption fees for these dogs that are generally harder to adopt and stay longer in their care.
• We provided volunteer support on three days in February as well as much-needed supplies, including food, blankets, and toys which benefitted all animals at their facility.

Tarleton State University Awards Sam Pack Honorary Doctorate

The Ford Motor Company Fund and the North Texas Ford Dealers have a long history of community involvement, working to empower Texans to make their lives better and strengthen the communities where they live.

On August 29, 2022, Elena Ford, Ford Motor Company Chief Customer Experience Officer, the Ford Fund, and the North Texas Ford dealers working with the nonprofit First Book hosted an event at David Crockett Elementary in Weatherford to increase access to books, boost opportunities for literacy and encourage STEAM education for children in underserved communities. 

Literacy Instruction for Texas believes that in 12 years, more than 1 million people – 30 percent of Dallas County’s projected population – could be illiterate. The issue becomes even more urgent in light of Texas workforce projections that suggest over the next decade, most jobs in the state will require strong STEAM skills. Texas is expected to have the second-highest percentage of future STEAM job opportunities in the nation. 

To help bridge the literacy gap, the initiative hosted today includes:

• Distribution of STEAM-related books. The Ford Fund began working with First Book in 2015 to provide books to youth across the U.S., and by the end 2022, Ford Fund will have invested over $750,000 and delivered more than 145,000 books in Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Kansas City, Puerto Rico and San Antonio.

• Hands-on participation in literacy events and other activities to engage students and encourage a love of reading and interest in the subjects of STEAM

• Dallas-Fort Work nonprofit, Harvest Project Food Rescue brought its Ford mobile library – a retrofitted Ford Transit designed to deliver fresh produce and books throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The vehicle was donated by North Texas Ford Dealers and has delivered food for 4,500 local families since June of this year. 

Classic Chevrolet Fleet & Carter BloodCare | Spark Giveaway

Classic Chevrolet partnered with Carter BloodCare to help drive blood donations during a local blood crisis by giving away a new Chevy Spark to one lucky winner who donated blood during our campaign.

The story couldn’t have been better!  Not only were we successful in driving blood donations, but the winner was a high school senior in Covington, TX and his father is the principal of the school.  Once they had accepted the prize, the school was great in opening up to us and hosting a pep rally we planned in the high school gym including the cheer squad, band, school mascot, and 150+ students/family/faculty attending including the Mayor of Covington.  The event drummed up so much excitement and positivity numerous people in the community approached us and expressed their gratitude along with several local news stations and newspapers featured the story in the media.

Check out the video below to see the full story.

PARK PLACE DEALERSHIPS CELEBRATES  TEACHERS OF THE YEAR

Park Place Dealerships have been supporting teachers of the year in numerous school districts for years across the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This year, Park Place recognized teachers in Plano, Carroll, Allen, Grapevine-Colleyville and Prosper ISDs. 

“Teachers inspire and encourage kids to explore and learn new concepts from kindergarten to high school,” said Park Place Dealerships Managing Director, Tony Carimi, “It’s hard work, and everyone at Park Place recognizes and applauds their efforts which benefits our entire community.” 

The Plano ISD and Park Place Lexus Plano recently recognized Plano ISD Teachers of the Year Sierra Imper of The Colony and Ericka Lindsey of Frisco. Sierra Imper was named Elementary Teacher of the Year for Rose Hagger Elementary School. Erika Lindsey was named Secondary Teacher of the Year for Vines High School.  

Carroll ISD and Park Place Jaguar Land Rover recognized Carroll ISD Teachers of the Year Scott Bishop and Claire Hinkle. Scott Bishop is a third-grade teacher at Old Union Elementary.  Claire Hinkle is a math teacher at Carroll High School. 

Allen ISD and Park Place Lexus Plano recognized Allen ISD Teachers of the Year Kaley Mancuso and Trey Stolp. Kaley Mancuso is a third-grade teacher at Marion Elementary. Trey Stolp is an eighth-grade teacher at Curtis Middle School. 

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Park Place Lexus Grapevine recently recognized Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Teachers of the Year Lynette Hollinger and Carolyn Province. Lynette Hollinger was named Elementary Teacher of the Year at Glenhope Elementary. Carolyn Province is the Secondary Teacher of the Year at Grapevine High School. 

Prosper ISD and Park Place Lexus Plano recognized Prosper ISD Teachers of the Year Heather Clay and Margie Raper. Clay was named Elementary Teacher of the Year at Cockrell Elementary. Raper is Secondary Teacher of the Year at Rock Hill High School. 

The CISD teachers were offered a summer in a Range Rover Evoque. Teachers in Plano ISD, Allen ISD, and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD were offered a summer in a Lexus IS or NX. 

Park Place Dealerships was founded in 1987. For the past 34 years, the company has been engaged in the community through its support of the arts, medical research, children’s advocacy and education. Park Place Dealerships employs more than 1,400 members and operates eight full-service dealerships representing luxury brands including Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover. For more info, visit  parkplace.com.

Classic Mazda of Denton hosted a special event on December 18th to honor Mazda Hero, Matthew Elieson of Sanger, Texas who turned his 3-D printing hobby into PPE development. Matthew designed and created job-specific PPE materials that were both reusable and hygienic as a way to support local businesses’ safety and sanitation measures. At the event Matthew will be recognized for his efforts and awarded a Mazda MX-5 Miata 100th Anniversary Special Edition.

The ‘Mazda Heroes: Honoring The Human Spirit’ program (Mazda Heroes) aims to place spotlight on individuals across the country who have tirelessly dedicated themselves to their communities throughout 2020 and acknowledge the impact of their efforts on those around them. Mazda North American Operations selected 50 deserving people to be awarded this special honor.

The Better Business Bureau’s Torch Awards for Ethics recognizes companies who display an outstanding level of ethics and integrity in all of their business dealings demonstrating a high level of trust among their employees, customers and supporting their communities. Read more…

This is the Single Largest Community Relations Effort Undertaken by Park Place Dealerships in the Company’s 33-Year History

Park Place Dealerships and Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity broke ground October 7 on a new home in Dallas to provide a brighter future for a local family. It is Park Place Dealerships’ largest community relations projects undertaken at any given time in the company’s 33-year history and the 11^th volunteer built home in 2020 for Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity.

With little public transportation within north Tarrant County, getting to and from work, school, grocers, clinics, and all other destinations is a constant concern.

The kind folks at Sam Pack’s Five Star Subaru of Grapevine know how important reliable transportation is. Recently the dealership worked with a customer to turn her trade-in into a donation to GRACE.

Sandi Clark stepped onto the Five Star Subaru lot intent on getting new Subaru. When the conversation turned to the trade-in value of her older model car, Sandi saw the chance to help another person in a much more valuable way.

Instead of a using her car as a trade-in, Sandi asked the Subaru salesman, Calum Allen, if she could donate it to GRACE instead. Calum and Dee Boyett, Five Star Subaru Delivery and Public Relations Specialist, immediately contacted GRACE.

GRACE was recently selected by Subaru as its 2020 “Share the Love” charity—the third year in a row GRACE has been honored in this way. Each year, GRACE and the Subaru leadership and sales team get together to talk about those who come to GRACE for help.

The “Share the Love” campaign runs early-November through the first few days of the new year, and Subaru donates $250 to GRACE for every car sold during that time. In total, Five Star Subaru has donated nearly $130,000 to support GRACE services and programs.

Naturally, when the opportunity came to help GRACE with the car donation, Calum, Dee, and dealership manager Tony Hooman jumped at the chance. Our thanks to Sandi, for her selfless generosity, and to the folks at Sam Pack’s Five Star Subaru for keeping GRACE in their thoughts.

Vehicle donations are gratefully accepted at GRACE, and recognized as a fully tax-deductible contribution. If you have a car in good running condition and are interested in donating it to GRACE, please contact GRACE Finance Director Teresa Williamson at 817-305-4661.

Irving ISD’s Teacher of the Year

Teachers are heroes, no doubt! The great folks at Don Herring Mitsubishi honored Irving ISD’s Teacher of the Year, Ana Berry, with a beautiful vehicle to drive during her reign.

Thank you to Ana and all the devoted teachers out there who care so much and go the extra mile!

Third Annual Duck Race benefits local students

In conjunction with the Subaru Loves to Learn initiative Five Star Subaru and the Grapevine Rotary Club have partnered to help Grapevine and Colleyville students with scholarships to provide students with computers that would normally not be available to afford one. Especially during COVID-19 it is important for students to a computer. The more students learn, the more secure they become and gain a thorough understanding and a sense of well-being which helps diminish stress levels. Receiving a computer is not only a wonderful gift, it can be life changing for these students.

Sam Pack’s Five Star Subaru of Grapevine & the Community Outreach Center Feed Our Kids

Sam Pack’s Five Star Subaru of Grapevine pulled out all the stops on Friday, June 19, at the Community Outreach Center Feed Our Kids site.

Nearly 200 youngsters from the neighborhoods surrounding the Outreach Center enjoyed packaged meals and a visit from the Tikiz ice cream truck.

Feed Our Kids wrapped up its third week by posting some of its largest numbers served to-date. Thursday, nearly 630 children were served at six locations around the city. Today’s number is expected to top that.

Lewisville student recognized as Ford Driving Dreams Scholarship recipient

In June, Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford Lewisville joined Ford Fund & NTX Ford Dealers to award Ford Driving Dreams very first Virtual Scholarship Event.

During that time over 250 Seniors from North Texas were recognized with their Ford Driving Dreams Scholarship.

Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford Lewisville was so excited when we found out that one of our Seniors would be showcased- Trinity Ijoma from Lewisville High School! Trinity sent us a video sharing what the Ford Driving Dreams Scholarship meant to her and we at Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford Lewisville just had to share it to Ford- it touched our hearts!

Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford Lewisville Dealership General Manager Mr. Asim Ali said, “This is where our heart is. Giving back to our community is what set’s our team above the bar. Working hard is instilled in our team, but giving back and helping the community where we live and work is our passion.”

“I’ve always been interested in going into the Tech field, even when I was young. Last Summer I attended a state affiliated Coding Summer Camp through North Central Texas College. It was an eye-opening experience for me, because it showed how versatile the Tech Industry can be. That’s when I knew I wanted to major in Computer Science because I enjoyed coding, and coding is a main aspect in Computer Science,” said Ijoma. She continued by saying, “I also want to become a leader in the Tech Industry and help diversify it. I think that more women and minorities should be in positions of power within the industry, which right now is male dominated.”

– Trinity Ijoma

3rd Annual Tomes Auto Group McKinney Battle of the Badges partners with Carter BloodCare

Carter Blood Care is in the middle of a month long blood shortage here in Texas and across the entire nation. For the 3^rd year in a row Tomes Auto Group hosted McKinney Battle of the Badges in partnership with Carter BloodCare on Saturday, June 6, 2020. McKinney Battle of the Badges is a friendly competition between our local Police and Fire Departments, to see which group has more donors. Both Police and Fire Department come to Tomes Auto Group premises for the event and donors get to select which organization to support at the time of their donation. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter BloodCare took extra precautions on their drive to ensure social distancing.  They only allowed 4 donors on their bus each hour to ensure that donors were not in close contact with each other during the entire process.  That also allowed them to do extra cleaning of all surfaces in between each donor.  Their staff and donors wore masks while they interacted with each other. We had 31 donors and collected 28 units of blood, which will directly impact 80 lives. 

At our blood drive we had 31 donors and collected 28 units of blood, which will directly impact 80 lives. Tomes Auto Group support in the McKinney Battle of the Badges Blood Drive was crucial in helping to supply blood to local hospitals.

Carter BloodCare and Park Place Dealerships Teamed Up to Potentially Save 339 Lives Through Blood Drive

Park Place Dealerships hosted the blood drive over two days at seven locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington and Plano with 114 donors and 113 units collected, equating to about 339 lives saved. Park Place encourages more Dallas/Fort Worth companies to organize blood drives throughout the summer, especially during the period of critical need.

The pandemic’s impact on the blood supply has been profound and sudden. Blood drives were cancelled after businesses, school, universities and houses of worship shut down. Giving blood is essential with or without the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Blood donors are the only way to provide for transfusions because blood cannot be manufactured. Since the state of Texas has reopened, hospitals are trying to resume a full capacity of medical and surgical services. Six hundred to 800 patients a day require transfusions. 

Companies and the community can get more information or sign up to give blood at carterbloodcare.org.

1,016 Pairs of Shoes Donated to Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center

Brandon Tomes Subaru rallied the community on social media and through their website to help meet their goal of 1,000 new pairs of shoes. Donations were dropped off by employees and customers, but monetary donations were also accepted.