The Cars 4 Causes Blog.

Cars 4 Causes Partners with Team Gypsy Kids to Adopt 7 Ukrainian Children.

Pat Jessup

January 27, 2011

Angelina and Brad aren’t the only ones adopting kids these days.  Cars 4 Causes recently teamed up with Gypsy Kids and adopted 7 children from the Ukraine; Luli, Kati, Gabor, Misko, Norbi, Roman and Amanda. 

Ranging in age from 2 years to 8 years old, our Gypsy Kids are orphans who were left in the Mukachevo region of the Ukraine.  These children are abandoned and run loose in this region without parental care or supervision.  Team Gypsy Kids is a Christian based ministry who has set up a camp for these orphaned children.  They provide the kids with 2 meals a day, clothing and other basic needs.  Team Gypsy Kids ministry has also installed a flushing toilet and provided 2 working gas stoves to prepare meals. During the winter in Mukachevo, Ukraine the temperatures drop to -35 degrees, so they also provide jackets and clothing for these children.  

Cars 4 Causes has committed monthly financial support for these children and will be able to support their progress as Team Gypsy Kids helps to improve their lives. In addition to financial support, employees of Cars 4 Causes are donating jackets and clothing that can be delivered to our little ones in the Ukraine.

Currently, Team Gypsy Kids has about 160 gypsy orphans with about 65 sponsored. They need all the support they can get to provide meals and clothing to keep these children safe and warm!  If you to want to adopt a Gypsy Kid, it only takes about $1.00 per day to change their life.  Just visit the Team Gypsy Kids web-site at www.teamgypsykids.org to find out more.

S. Madrigal

January 25, 2011

Seems like just yesterday when we were handing out the awards to the children from last years art contest.

Another year, gone already?  Before you know it, we’ll be hosting our tenth art contest, my kids will want my car keys and I’ll be turning 30! ….o.k. 35, but a girl can dream!

But back to present day (whew!…..I feel better already).  This month Cars 4 Causes® held it’s 5^th Annual Kids Art Contest at the Santa Paula Elementary School District.  Six schools from the district participated and, at the contest awards ceremony last week, one winner was chosen from each grade 1 through 5.

This year, the police chief, fire chief and the former mayor/city council member were the honorable judges and it was no easy task.  I’ve been overseeing this contest for three years now and it seems like each year the submissions keep getting better and better.  This year was, by far, the best work ever; making our judges selections very difficult.

But in the end, it was the Glen City Elementary, 1^st grade; Barbara Webster Elementary, second grade; Blanchard Elementary, 3^rd grade; Glen City Elementary, 4^th grade; and Barbara Webster Elementary 5^th grade, all crowned the winners of this years contest.  READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Each student winner received an art kit.  Each winning students’ classroom was awarded $1,000 from Cars 4 Causes®.  And each winning students’ classroom chose an additional charity to receive $1,000 each.  Those charities chosen by the students were; SPIRIT of Santa Paula – Many Meals Project (chose twice); Assistance League School of Ventura County;  Make-a-Wish Foundation, Tri-Counties; and Locks of Love.

On behalf of Cars 4 Causes^® I would also like to thank the staff and teachers of the Santa Paula School District, as well as the parents of the students for their enthusiasm and support for this project.

Cars 4 Causes® 2011-2012 Sixth Annual Art Contest will take place within the Pleasant Valley School District.  This will include Camarillo Heights Elementary, Dos Caminos Elementary, El Descanso Elementary, La Mariposa Elementary, Las Posas Elementary, Rancho Rosal Elemantary and Tierra Linda Elementary.

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES CARS 4 CAUSES®

Most Money Raised To-Date; C4C Biggest Donor

P. Jessup, January 19. 2011

Everyone loves a party, right?  Especially, when you’re one the guest of honor…the attention, the accolades, the paparazzi…..After all, we do live in California, where “celebrity” is the unofficial state motto! 

But at the end of the day, there are some of us who are content just knowing that what we do helps those less fortunate and changes lives.  I am one of those people who love what we do here at Cars 4 Causes but have never relished the idea of being praised for it.  However, in the course of doing all this good work, it does feel nice to be recognized and appreciated for our efforts.

Last Thursday, Cars 4 Causes was one of three supporters who were honored for their respective contributions to the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk that was held on October 2, 2010.  So, humbly, I showed up to a small gathering in Thousand Oaks, California.  It was a beautiful setting held at the Oak View Retirement Community. The grounds were meticulously manicured, the room was warm and comfortable, the air was casual, the hor d’oeuvres were scrumptious and everyone was in good spirits. 

Cars 4 Causes was recognized for the efforts its volunteer group, Team Cars 4 Causes, contributed to the Memory Walk.  The team showed up to the event with the most team members and brought tremendous visibility to the Walk with over 40 participants, all synchronized in matching Team Cars 4 Causes hats and shirts.  You may recall from a the story posted on our website, that Team Cars 4 Causes raised more than $2,400 for the Alzheimer’s Walk and helped them surpass their fundraising goal of $50,000 for this event.  READ FULL STORY HERE.

On behalf of Cars 4 Causes I was presented with a certificate and beautifully engraved plaque memorializing Cars 4 Causes’ support for the Alzheimer’s Association.  I dedicated the plaque to all of the Team Cars 4 Causes members who showed up and contributed their time and money to make the 2010 Alzheimer’s Walk a success. I can’t help walking away from an event like this and not think to myself, “it sure feels good helping others.”

Hi everyone!

We noticed this ABC News investigative story about the Better Business Bureau and wanted to share it to keep you informed and safe.

Unfortunately, we’ve been at the receiving end of BBB’s unfair grading practices and we were shocked and disheartened when we discovered that no matter how much proof we provided to support our case for a better rating, the only thing they wanted was money!

So, we were so pleased to see this recent investigative news story expose some of these BBB practices, such as unethical pay-to-play procedures, and while the news may come as a surprise to consumers and is certainly very disappointing to all, we’re glad that these unethical practices have been exposed and we are looking forward to new changes in procedure to ensure accurate and trustworthy grades for businesses.

News Investigators began back in November when a 20/20 report showed how a group of Los Angeles business owners paid hundreds of dollars to buy BBB memberships for a number of fictitious firms.  The result: The L.A. BBB awarded an A- rating to a non-existent sushi restaurant and an A+ to a fake firm named after Stormfront, a white supremacist group.

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL REPORT

The most recent ABC News investigation was based on these same allegations that the BBB is running a “pay-to-play” scheme for its grading procedure, wherein A+  ratings are given exclusively to businesses that pay for a BBB membership and businesses that do not become members are given lower grades.

In the 20/20 report, the ABC investigation showed how two small Los Angeles businesses, with an ABC News producer and camera present, were told by BBB telemarketers that their C grades could be raised to an A+ if they paid to join the BBB.  After one of these owners, the manager of an antique hardware story, paid the $565 membership fee the C grade was replaced with an A+ and the one complaint was wiped off the record.  Tsk tsk!

You can read more about the issue here:  ABC News BBB Investigation Story

And feel free to let us know your thoughts on the matter!

Cars 4 Causes