New Car Dealers Foundation / Special Olympics BC – 2015 Auction Review

The 2015 New Car Dealers Foundation of BC / Special Olympics Auction raised nearly $187,000, bringing the three-decade total to almost $4.4 million in support of Special Olympics BC and the work of the New Car Dealers Foundation. B.C.’s New Car Dealers have been making a difference with Special Olympics BC for 30 years, and this year’s auction showed the relationship is going strong, as Dealers and supporters donated the greatest number of items yet.

This highly successful event started life in 1987 as the popular Casino Auction in support of SOBC, chaired by Sherrold Haddad. The first event raised $50,000 and soared in its second year, raising $120,000. As times changed, the auction grew and changed too. In the late 1990s, seeking to expand the auction so that dealers outside the Lower Mainland could participate, the dinner/auction began the transition from an event to what is now an online auction. Under the committee chaired by Tom Harris, this transition started in 1998 with dealers bidding by phone, email, or fax the first year.

Over the next couple of years, bidding by fax and email were replaced with bidding online through a dedicated auction website. Throughout the technological changes, the New Car Dealers Foundation of BC / Special Olympics Auction has remained a very successful initiative that provides significant funding to SOBC and the New Car Dealers Foundation.

The funds raised help SOBC transform lives through the power of sport every day. In B.C., there are more than 4,300 Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities in 57 communities empowering themselves through year-round sport and youth programs, supported by more than 3,300 dedicated volunteers and generous sponsors like B.C.’s New Car Dealers.

The New Car Dealers Foundation awards CarCareerBC education grants to eligible students in B.C. who wish to pursue post-secondary education or training leading to a career in the automotive industry. CarCareerBC grants provide financial support towards the cost of tuition and books for recipients enrolled in applicable apprenticeship, training or education. In addition to supporting SOBC, the Foundation has also contributed funding to Georgian College, the University of Victoria, SOS Children’s Village BC, Thompson River, Okanagan College, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, and BCIT.

SOBC and the New Car Dealers Foundation extend sincere thanks to everyone who supported the 2015 auction, and look forward to continued success in 2016. To get involved, please contact Christina Hadley, SOBC Vice President, Fund Development & Communications, at 604-737-3073 / 1-888-854-2276 toll-free / chadley@specialolympics.bc.ca.