Montco Dealership Raises $114K For Local Cancer Patients

Amber Mercado for Patch

ABINGTON, PA -- During their Share the Love Event in Winter 2016, Subaru donated $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased to the customer's choice of five national non-profit organizations. In addition to the five national organizations, Subaru retailers have the opportunity to add a sixth local charity for customers to support. Glanzmann Subaru in Jenkintown, PA has supported For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation (FPS) for the past four years.

For seventeen years, For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation (FPS) has been dedicated to improving the lives of families battling cancer by providing respite vacations to adult cancer patients (ages 24-55) and their loved ones in beautiful settings. Since its inception, FPS has partnered with over 325 oncology professionals to serve over 6,000 cancer patients, caregivers and children with emotional support and respite vacations to Florida, the Poconos, West Virginia, the Jersey Shore, the Carolinas, Maine and the Caribbean. Upon the patients’ return, FPS continues to provide ancillary support to patients and their families as their battle with cancer persists.

This year, Glanzmann Subaru customers raised $43,499 for FPS! Since the inception of this partnership in 2013, Glanzmann Subaru has contributed over $114,000 to help local families take a break from cancer. Jeff Glanzmann of Glanzmann Subaru presented FPS Founder & CEO, Marci Schankweiler, with a check at the dealership. Bill Colbridge, a recipient of the FPS respite vacation program, shared his story with the sales team who helped fund his respite vacation through the Share the Love Event!

Bill traveled with his wife, Sharon, to Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya, and the respite vacation was also supported by Apple Vacations. After a trying battle with melanoma, Bill and Sharon were grateful for this chance to reconnect and make love greater than cancer. They were even surprised by Secrets staff with a vow renewal ceremony! “(After our respite vacation), Sharon and I returned to our children, dogs and home with a renewed look on life and desire to pay our great fortune forward,” said Bill.

"We have been honored to partner with For Pete's Sake for our Share the Love event over the past four years. We chose FPS because their mission matches so well with our goals of "Sharing the Love" and that is exactly what this partnership has done... Shared the Love by raising over $100,000 over the past four years and directly impacting the lives of cancer patients and their families by giving them a break from dealing with the horrors of this disease," said Jeff Glanzmann, General Manager at Glanzmann Subaru.

FPS was established by Marci Bossow Schankweiler in 1999 in memory of her husband, Peter R. Bossow, Jr., whose heroic fifteen-month battle with cancer ended on September 1, 1999. FPS enables adult cancer patients and their families the opportunity to strengthen, deepen and unify their relationships by creating unforgettable and lasting respite vacations. For more information about FPS visit www.takeabreakfromcancer.org. For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation, a US-based 501(c)(3) organization, is funded entirely by charitable donations.

Founded in 1968, Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is the U.S. Sales and Marketing subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) of Japan and is responsible for the distribution, marketing, sales and service of Subaru vehicles in the United States. For additional information visit media.subaru.com.

Glanzmann Subaru, Philadelphia's Premier Subaru Dealership, is located at 95 Old York Rd. in Jenkintown, PA. For additional information visit www.glanzmann.com.

Pictured in photo (L to R): Jeff Glanzmann, General Manager, Glanzmann Subaru, Marci Schankweiler, Founder & CEO, FPS and Bill Colbridge, Traveler, FPS.

Image via Amber Mercado