Pine Belt Test Drives Raise Nearly $9K For Brick High School

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township High School alum returned to his roots and made a donation to the school through an event that let students test drive cars.

Mazda's Be Moved Drive Program was presented at the high school through Pine Belt Mazda, which is led by dealer principal and owner Rob Sickel.

The community test drive event on Tuesday was a fundraiser for the school's PTSA, paying $50 per test drive.

It raised $8,850 with 177 test drives to support school improvement projects, the company said.

Sickel, a 1996 graduate of Brick Township High School, and employee Brandon Phillips, another Brick Township High School alumnus, returned with the goal of helping support and create new opportunities for the students at the school they once attended.

"This commitment to local education is nothing new for Pine Belt Mazda," the company said. The Be Moved Drive Program also has raised funds for Point Pleasant High School.

The program allowed test drives for anyone 18 or older and invited parents, family, friends, and neighbors to take part.

“Pine Belt is huge in our area: they’re a staple in Ocean County and our community," said Lisa Stansbury, an English teacher and the field hockey coach at Brick High School. "To see them pitch in, it really helps to instill a lot of community pride and gratitude for them and their place in our community."

"It means a lot to our students when they know that their community’s behind them and their community believes in them," said Stansbury, the parent of three Brick graduates and students. "A fundraising campaign like this – it generates excitement, it generates pride, pride in our traditions, pride in our past, pride in our future, and it’s something that can be uplifting for the school and the community."

Sickel said the event was the perfect opportunity to give back to the school where he was a student; Stansbury was one of his teachers, he said.

"We had a great time here at Brick Township High School at the Mazda Be Moved Drive Program event," he said. "It feels so good to be able to give back to the high school that I went to, and I know all the kids and teachers are going to appreciate it."