Local Boys & Girls Club Launches Commerce for a Cause
Flagship pledge makes Hunter Automotive Group the Club’s Business of Caringfor year 2011
(August 23, 2010 – Hendersonville, NC) - Hunter Automotive Group of Hendersonville, NC, has become the Henderson County Boys & Girls Club’s 2011 Business of Caringafter pledging $50,000 to the organization, driven by proceeds from corporate sales. This gift marks the launch of a new initiative by the club dubbed Commerce for a Cause.
"Hunter Automotive has plugged in and is leading by example in a day and age where many companies have become more conservative with resources,” said Tom Fazio, club founder. "We commend them for setting the pace for corporate stewardship in a new economy.”
The Commerce for a Cause initiative allows companies to give to the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County based on a portion of profits generated from sales throughout the year, explained John Bruce, Plant Manager of Kimberly-Clark and President of the club’s Board of Directors.
"The Business of Caringdistinction will be awarded to one company each year that has committed to significantly impact the reach and resonance of the club’s work,” Bruce added. "It is an avenue of giving that can be adapted to any scale and any product.”
The partnership is well timed for the Boys & Girls Club. Since 2008, membership has surged by 41 percent. In 2009, the club served 1,270 Henderson County youth. So far in 2010, the club has experienced record attendance and day-to-day operations are flourishing.
"The need for our services is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Executive Director, Kevin Lauritsen. "We are achieving some great successes with our youth at the club. I am proud that a successful company like Hunter is partnering with us to change young lives for the better so that we can do even more. It is corporate citizenship at its best.”
Founded in 1940, Hunter Automotive Group has a long history of giving back to the community."We have chosen to support the club because of the profound impact that it has on the county’s neediest youth,” said Tom Hunter, President of Hunter Automotive Group. "We recognize that the club gets amazing results and that the benefits of those results will come full circle in the years to come.”
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club is to inspire and enable young people, especially those most in need, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. An all-inclusive membership to the club costs $5.00 per child, per year.
The club opened in 1993, serving a handful of members in a 2,000 square foot building. Today, the downtown Hendersonville campus has expanded to 35,000 square feet and accommodates youth from every school in the county public schools system.
The club has been recognized with top program awards at the state and national levels by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Members at the club benefit from more than 50 programs focusing on Education & Career Development, Sports, Fitness & Recreation, Health & Life Skills, Character & Leadership, and the Arts.
"Hunter Automotive Group has been a significant member of the local marketplace for 70 years,” added Mr. Bruce. "We plan to follow in these footsteps, operating our club with similar vision and sustainability, so that we might partner together again in the years to come.”