The Cars 4 Causes Blog. Car Donation Program Nationwide.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee provides 2,700 acres of land, care and feeding for elderly, sick, needy or troubled elephants rescued from zoos and circuses. The sanctuary allows elephants to live out their lives in a natural habitat under strict monitoring and loving care of veterinarians, staff caregivers, and volunteers.

They have also opened an educational center in Lewis County, Tennessee to educate people about the work they do at the Elephant Sanctuary and about the plight of elephants in zoos and circuses. They also allow visitors to view live video feeds of the elephants at the Sanctuary.  The Sanctuary protects the elephants’ routines and habitat while still allowing visitors to view them in real time.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has an outreach program that travels nationwide, and a popular non-profit YouTube channel (ranked #61 all-time most viewed) to track the elephants in the sanctuary. I viewed their Summer 2008 newsletter online, and found it very informative with great pictures of the elephant residents making use of all features provided by the dedicated staff. They also had 2 moving tributes to grand elephants that have peacefully passed on.

Obviously, with these huge pachyderms, there is also a huge price tag. I was curious to find out about their fund-raising on the website and what it costs to foot the bill for 15-20 elephants. Granted, the elephants have a wealth of hardwood forest and vegetation to eat from at the Sanctuary’s natural habitat, but it is not able to sustain the 17 elephants currently residing there. Residents are fed a “breakfast basket” of hay and fruit daily to supplement the available wild vegetation. They have pretty well browsed the available vegetation in the habitat, but with the rich “fertilizer” they leave behind (literally), there has been a positive impact on the foliage on the grounds overall.

If you decide to donate your car to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, will it help the elephants? You bet it will! Your vehicle donation could feed an elephant for almost a whole month. Of course, this time frame could vary depending on the vehicle being donated, but anyway you look at it, that’s a lot of peanuts!

Keep giving everybody.

Tags: Elephant Sanctuary, vehicle donation

America’s Day of Action is this Saturday, September 27. Across America, you will find people taking action in the form of service, marches, rallies and events. People are gathering to effectuate change in their local communities and thereby collectively enriching our country as a whole. Thousands of events will be held across America. These service organizations have a great impact on the communities they provide for. Joining in on one of these volunteer projects on this Day of Action is a great opportunity for people to connect with their local service organizations. Be careful when you volunteer because you just might get hooked!

So far, bethechangeinc.org has recorded 2652 events planned in 50 states across America. click here to enter your zip code to see what is happening in and around your community. Where can your time, talent and energy contribute the most?

Tags: Day of Action, Service Organizations, Volunteer Projects

Jevon is a young man who has already met and overcome major obstacles and challenges. He spent his youth on the tough inner-city streets of South Los Angeles and worked his way through middle and high school. He survived the foster care system, and is the first member of his family to attend college.

Jevon became involved as a youth participant with Echoes of Hope and their partner Bresee Foundation; both organizations target at-risk youth in the Los Angeles area. Through their programs, young people are given access to the tools and experiences necessary to succeed. These programs focus on helping young people plan their career paths and set realistic goals that will move them closer and prepare them for those careers while developing a work ethic and leadership abilities that will serve them throughout their lives.

Echoes of Hope contacted us about this amazing young man who has just completed his first year at Cal State University Channel Islands where he received honors as “Outstanding First Year Student Leader”, and was awarded the “Triumph Award”.

With the help of Echoes of Hope, Bresee Foundation and Cars 4 Causes®, Jevon is now poised to drive forward into his future in a 1996 Honda Accord! We are thrilled to be able to help him on his way and wish him great success!

Tags: Bresee Foundation, Car Give-Away Program, Cars 4 Causes®, Echoes of Hope

We want to send our condolences to the families and friends of the victims from last Friday’s Metrolink train crash that killed 25 people. Among the victims was our friend, Dean Brower of Ventura, CA.

We have been collaborating with Dean and Kim Brower’s company Pulse Drumming on a local fundraising project to put music and the arts back into Ventura area schools. Pulse Drumming has been working to make their vision of sharing the arts through teaching music and dance to local children a reality. We were deeply saddened to hear of  Dean’s passing.

We send our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to Kim Brower and her family in this time of sorrow.

Tags: Dean Brower, Metrolink train crash, Pulse Drumming

Cars 4 Causes® Car Give-Away Program has made a huge difference in Linda’s family life.  Linda is caring for her six grandchildren and needed a way to transport all of them together.

The request for help came from Kaiser Permanente explaining that taking over the care of these children was a surprise and Linda didn’t have much time to prepare or make arrangements. She simply knew that her grandchildren needed her, so she accepted the task.

Cars 4 Causes® responded to this need with a 1998 Dodge Caravan which can accommodate everyone.

Linda picked up the mini van at Cars 4 Causes® on Tuesday accompanied by some of her grandchildren, who were happy and excited about the new car. Executive Director Pat Jessup revealed that she had a previous recipient lined up for the van, but it wasn’t the right match to meet her needs, “I got the call about Linda right after hanging up the phone with the other person, and thought, this van must be for her.”

We are so pleased to have been instrumental in making a difference to Linda and her family with this car donation.

Tags: Car Donation, Car Give-Away Program