McLEAN, Va. (May 6, 2011) – The National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation has mobilized its Emergency Relief Fund to aid dealership employees recovering from the tornadoes that devastated parts of Iowa and Alabama last week. Already, six people have received grants from the foundation to help them get back on their feet after losing their homes and most of their possessions. And the foundation continues to seek donations to help more dealership employees in the South, as the need for aid rises.
Jack Leigh, former NADA director from Alabama and president of Leigh Automotive Inc., says the tornadoes on April 27 left thousands in his community of Tuscaloosa, Ala., either without homes or with severe damage. Those whose homes were spared from total destruction have been without power and hot water for more than a week.
At least two dealerships in Tuscaloosa suffered substantial damage, Leigh says, and many dealership employees are struggling to re-establish safe housing for their families. Leigh's own dealership was unharmed, he says, but at least one of his employees was temporarily left without a place to live.
"I've got this great employee who had an apartment in one of the hardest-hit areas of Tuscaloosa," Leigh says. "He's managed to find another apartment, but he's really got nothing else, so money like this is extremely important at this time."
The foundation's emergency relief fund aids recovery efforts after natural disasters, such as flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes. Since the program started in 1992, the fund has provided more than 7,500 dealership employees with financial assistance totaling almost $5 million. In 2008 more than $600,000 was distributed to dealership employees who suffered losses as a result of hurricanes Gustav and Ike and flooding in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.
About the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation
NADCF, established in 1975, is the philanthropic arm of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Funds contributed by new-car and -truck dealers and friends provide emergency disaster relief, financial support to colleges and universities and community service programs. For more information about the foundation and its good works, visit http://www.nada.org/.
To make a donation to the Emergency Relief Fund of the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation, click here to download a contribution form. To contact the foundation, call (703) 821-7233 or e-mail foundation@nada.org.
Contact:
David Hyatt
Vice President
NADA Public Affairs
(703) 821-7120
dhyatt@nada.org
Charles Cyrill
Director of Public Relations
NADA Public Affairs
(216) 870-8837 (m)
(703) 821-7121
ccyrill@nada.org