Local Auto Dealers Deliver 50,000th Coat to New Yorkers in Need

In the thick of January’s bitter cold, franchised new car dealers in the New York metro area have hit an impressive milestone: 50,000 winter coats delivered to those in need as participants in the New York Cares annual coat drive.

For the last 30 years, New York Cares has organized New York City’s largest winter coat drive, and this year they donated their 2 millionth coat for New Yorkers in need. Since 2012, the top multi-location coat collector each year for this annual drive has been the combined forces of the franchised new car dealers that make up the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA). These auto dealers turned their places of business into places of warmth, and now the coats donated at their dealerships make up 10 percent of the total collected by New York Cares.

This 2018-19 winter, GNYADA and their member-car dealers collected over 8,000 winter coats, bringing their all-time total to over 50,000 coats donated. On Thursday, January 17, 2019, GNYADA commemorated this milestone at Volvo Cars Manhattan, joined by New York Cares Chief Program Officer David DeLuca and Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr.

“I’m extremely proud that our New York auto dealers continue to be the top multi-location coat collecting partner for the New York Cares Coat Drive and that we have achieved a tremendous milestone like this: helping 50,000 New Yorkers in need stay warm in the winter,” said Mark Schienberg, President of GNYADA. “I am continually impressed by the generosity of our member-dealers, many of whom have been deeply rooted in their communities for decades and deeply engage with and contribute to important local causes. Few things are as essential as staying warm during the cold winter months.”

“As new car dealers we pride ourselves on not only being economic anchors in the communities where we are located, but also long-term partners and supporters, of our neighbors,” said Brian Miller, Dealer Principal of Volvo Cars Manhattan. “The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association has been a continual source of support and encouragement for its members to give back and facilitating this partnership with the New York Cares coat drive over the past seven years is a wonderful example of that.”

Since its relationship with New York Cares first began in 2012, the GNYADA team of participating dealers and its yearly collection total have steadily increased with each new campaign. For instance, GNYADA’s 2016-2017 donation volume represented a 52% increase over the previous year’s total. This year, GNYADA collection sites were up to 180 locations, which is up from 140 last year.

More information available on the GNYADA website: http://www.gnyada.com/community/2018-coat-drive