As member of the Pierce County business community, Harnish Auto Family is always looking for great ways to give back and support local causes. This past October, Harnish made a great effort to provide a sizable donation to the Carol Milgard Breast Center of Tacoma. Through several outlets at all the Puyallup dealerships in the Harnish Auto Family, the company was able to raise an impressive $15,445.
The contribution to the Carol Milgard Breast Center was raised solely in the month of October through the three Harnish Auto Family dealerships in Puyallup. These dealerships include Chevrolet Buick GMC of Puyallup, Volkswagen of Puyallup and Subaru of Puyallup. One hundred percent of the proceeds from all three lots were given to the Carol Milgard Breast Center.
Harnish gathered the donations in several ways. The largest means of gathering funds was through test drives – for each and every test drive on their cars, the dealerships donated variable amounts to the overall pot of funds raised. The dealerships decked out the beautiful, new cars in their showrooms with large, pink ribbons and put up signage to let customers know what their money was contributing to. By the end of October, the Harnish dealerships were able to gather $12,500 from test drives alone.
Part of the funds were also gathered from the Harnish employees themselves. An all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast was held for all employees with a $5 entry fee to help raise money in a creative way.
“Having all the employees there was amazing,” says Lizzy Slenning, marketing coordinator for the Harnish Auto Family. “Everyone was so excited about it. It just made us all feel really good about giving back to the community. Since it was such a large donation, everyone felt like they were part of it and they helped – it really made everyone feel pretty good.”
Aubrey Rodgers, coordinator of the fundraiser and member of the Harnish marketing team, also remarked on the employee breakfast. “The coolest thing for me was the employee breakfast where our office and staff hosted a pancake feed. Pretty much everyone contributed and we raised almost $2,000 just off of that.” The Harnish Family is proud to be able to come together as a team for such a great cause.
One member of the Harnish Family took his contributions for the fundraiser one step further. Romy Duran, salesman at the Volkswagen of Puyallup lot, contributed 20 percent of all his commissions for the month of October. Romy says, “What drove me to make this large contribution was my environment and the organization I work for. My mother and father always made small differences throughout my life to others. Watching their actions and having the success I am having at Harnish Auto Family, I too wanted to make a difference. I have a few friends and family going through the struggles of breast cancer, so it was nice that I could do something like this. It meant a lot to find a way to raise and donate $1,045 dollars by myself, using my career. It was an incredible feeling when the time came to cutting the check and giving it to Carol Milgard Breast Center’s members during the Harnish auto family donation event. It was a feeling that can never be replaced.”
When speaking with members of the Harnish Auto Family, it is clear to see that they are whole-heartedly proud of the amazing contribution they were able to make to the Carol Milgard Breast Center. Romy explains how, “This is one of the first [fundraisers] we’ve done that’s this large. I think, as a company, it’s nice to come together, all the stores, and kind of contribute to one cause in our local community. Doing things local is really big here just because Harnish has been around in Puyallup since the 1970s. We like to give back and it’s nice to do it together for a local cause. It’s also nice to go to a foundation that affects so many lives.”
The Carol Milgard Breast Center is thrilled with the amazing contribution the Harnish Auto Family was able to make to their foundation. Barb Fox, philanthropy coordinator at the Carol Milgard Breast Center, shared, “It is a delight for all of us here at the Carol Milgard Breast Center to be part of the Harnish Auto Family’s amazing fundraising efforts. Their donation ensures that women in our community have access to the breast health services they need.”
To visit the Harnish Auto Family’s Puyallup locations Chevrolet Buick GMC of Puyallup, Volkswagen of Puyallup and Subaru of Puyallup, just take a trip to River Road in Puyallup or visit their website.
To schedule an appointment at the Carol Milgard Breast Center or learn more about their services, visit their website.
