Charity Spotlight: ALS Association

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Emily Kelley

Take a moment to learn about one of our amazing charity partners, the ALS Association.

Maybe you’ve heard of this organization through their viral Ice Bucket Challenge (watch our office participate!). The Ice Bucket Challenge is an innovative way to raise awareness about ALS. It also raised millions of dollars since 2014!

ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. This disease can be debilitating for those with ALS and their loved ones, but ALS Association works hard to support everyone affected by the disease.

ALS Association

ALS Association was founded in 1985, and fights ALS nationwide. How? They have four distinct tactics. They focus on Research, Public Policy, Care Services and Chapter Relations, and Public Education & Awareness.

ALS Association funds the best research with top scientists worldwide to better understand the disease and treat it. Also, they work to create policies that make life easier for people with ALS. Local chapters across the country support people affected with information and resources. Finally, the ALS Association knows that nothing will change if there isn’t awareness, and their website is a great resource.

On average, 15 people are diagnosed with ALS, and up to 30,000 Americans are currently living with ALS. The disease is rare, but the impacts spread far and wide.

How can you help?

One of the easiest ways to support the ALS Association is with a vehicle donation. Visit our website or give us a call at (888) 852-0305 and a friendly representative will help make a charity car donation that makes a difference.

Car Donation Wizard returns between 75-80% of every gross dollar earned at auction for your vehicle directly to your charity, the highest of any charity car donation program. A car donation to ALS Association is an easy way to help an incredible organization, and support the global fight against ALS.

1998 Isuzu Amigo to Francis House

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Emily Kelley

What’s in a name? The Isuzu Amigo is a seriously funky vehicle with an interesting history. This particular car is especially friendly, as it was donated to Francis House. Keep reading to learn about this neat car and the amazing charity its former owner supports.

The Isuzu Amigo was first produced under the name “MU Wizard.” Actually, the acronym MU had nothing to do with mechanics. It stands for “Mysterious Utility.” In Japan, Isuzu sold this car as the “Honda Jazz.” They sold it in the US as the Amigo.

This well-named SUV was produced from 1989-1998 in Lafayette, Indiana. As you can see above, this vehicle is far from compact. Japanese owners actually had to pay an additional tax because of its width! This car is bold and brash, like an amigo that always cracks jokes.

The much-loved car was donated through Car Donation Wizard to an incredible charity.

Francis House

Francis House is a charity active in Syracuse, NY. The mission of Francis House is to provide home and support to people with terminal illnesses. The residents have six months or less to live. Francis House has two homes in Syracuse and can care for up to eight people in each house.

They don’t just provide a place to live for those with terminal illnesses. They treat each resident with respect, dignity, and compassion. There is 24-hour medical supervision, and frequent volunteer hours as well as visiting hours for family and friends.

Each resident receives individualized care, including home-cooked meals, pet and music therapy, birthday and holiday celebrations, and private bedrooms.

In total, the cost per resident to Francis House is approximately $7,000 per month, and fundraising is essential for residents who cannot assist with those costs.

How to Help

The simplest way to help is to follow in the footsteps of the Isuzu Amigo owner. Donate your car to Francis House through Car Donation Wizard.
Car Donation Wizard has the highest return of any charity car donation program. Francis House receives 75-80% of each dollar earned from the vehicle sale.

Get started with your donation online or by calling us at (877) 957-2277. It’s easy to be a friend to Francis House and the residents they support.

Charity Spotlight: One Laptop Per Child

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Emily Kelley

This week’s Charity Spotlight focuses on One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit created by MIT Media Lab members. Their mission is to “empower the world’s poorest children through education.”

One Laptop Per Child

As their name suggests, they plan to achieve that goal by providing children, from Afghanistan to Miami to Uruguay with their own rugged, durable, low-energy laptop.

The experts at One Laptop Per Child designed these computers to be versatile and tough. The device is roughly the size of a textbook, and lighter than a lunchbox. This portability is just one of several amazing attributes.

Some of the features include:

a color mode and a black-and-white mode that is as easy to read in sunlight as a newspaper
wireless broadband that connects each laptop in a local network, even without a wifi router
playful interface, including a touchscreen, that keeps children eager to learn while enabling exploration and expression
durable construction with thick plastic walls and a rechargeable battery, with an estimated lifetime of four years, compared to an average life of three years for typical laptops

One Laptop Per Child offers cutting-edge technology that is highly specified towards young users in any environmental setting. They have given over 2.5 million computers directly in the hands of the children who need them most, in over 60 countries around the world.

Do you want to help give young children like Zimi the best education possible?

One Laptop Per Child uses the technology of today to craft a bright future for tomorrow.

You can help, with the donation of a car, boat, RV, or motorcycle to One Laptop Per Child by visiting our website or calling a representative at (888) 852-0102.

Car Donation Wizard returns between 75-80% of every gross dollar earned from vehicle donations to One Laptop Per Child. Donating your car, boat, RV, or motorcycle is an easy way to fund OLPC.

International Youth Day

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Emily Kelley

August 12 marks the 18th annual International Youth Day, created by the United Nations to celebrate youth worldwide. This year’s theme is safe spaces.

According to the UN, there are 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24, and 10% of those youths live in conflict zones.

“Young people … are essential for any lasting solution leading to peace,” states Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

There have never been so many young people alive at once, and the current rate of population growth means that number will continue to increase. At the start of 2012, more than 50.5% of the world’s population was under the age of 30.

International Youth Day aims to empower youth worldwide. What does that empowerment look like? Sometimes, it comes in the form of letting kids be youthful by providing safe space for sports and leisure. It also means taking youths’ opinions and ideas seriously, creating a safe political place to enable engagement.

As seen in the above video, the idea of a space safe includes social media and the digital world. A campaign to flood Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtags #youthday and #safespaces4youth is another international effort.

You too can feel the spirit of International Youth Day, with a vehicle donation to charities that support children and youth.

Donate to Youth on International Youth Day:

Even if you aren’t a youth yourself, you can make a donation to help the charity of your choice, and we at Car Donation Wizard can help make it easy.

We work with a wide range of charities benefitting children and youth, both domestically and internationally. The charities include:

If you donate a vehicle through Car Donation Wizard, between 75-80% of every gross dollar directly benefits the charity of your choice, which makes a big difference in the lives of the youth.

Visit our website or give us a call at (877) 999-8322 and we will help you get started on your donation supporting International Youth Day.

1986 Chevrolet Celebrity Donated to Feed the Children

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Emily Kelley

This week’s Vehicle Spotlight illuminates a nifty old car donated to Feed the Children: a 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity.

This car is certainly a lot boxier than most models on the road today, but this car earned its name, as the highest selling vehicle in the US in 1986. Talk about Celebrity!

Though the Celebrity has a roofline identical to the Buick Century, the rear-covered fascia differentiates the two.

A contemporary ad boasted:

Celebrity…Shaped for the way you drive today.

The way we drive today certainly seems to have changed, so this donor gladly parted ways with their vintage vehicle in order to help an amazing charity they care deeply about.

Feed the Children

This donor chose to donate their famous car to Feed the Children, an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger. No child should ever go hungry and Feed the Children strives to achieve that goal.

Did you know that 1 in 7 children around the world don’t have enough food, largely due to poverty? There is more than enough food to go around, but not everyone has the resources to get a seat at the table.

Every day, Feed the Children provides meals for over 263,000 children. They provide food for children in the US, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malwai, Nicaragua, Philippines, Tanzania, and Uganda.

In addition, they understand that in order to break the cycle of poverty, children need a good education. Feed the Children provides school meals to incentivize attendance and help kids focus. They also work with local builders to ensure the school buildings themselves are sufficient.

What You Can Do

Even if you don’t have a world-famous car, the friendly folks at Car Donation Wizard are happy to help you, help Feed the Children. When you donate your car, the charity receives between 75-80% of each gross dollar earned at auction.

Give us a call at (888) 317-1212 or visit our website to get started on your car donation and help build a world where child hunger is a distant memory.