Thunder Bay, Ontario — Two weeks ago, CARSTAR Thunder Bay and the Half-Way Motors Group celebrated the 10th-annual Winederful event in support of Our Kids Count (OKC) and the Ronald McDonald House in London, Ont.
The event was specifically led by Daniel Trevisanutto, partner in the Half-Way Motors Group, and the team in which attendees successfully raised $44,000 for Our Kids Count and $22,000 for the Ronald McDonald House through a separate charity initiative.
During the fundraiser, attendees participated in raffles and live auctions where CARSTAR Thunder Bay auctioned off a pair of Raptors tickets and two West Jet flights to anywhere in the world.
According to a social media post from CARSTAR Canada, the entire team at Half-Way Motors also worked together to fill over 70 boxes of non-perishable food items for Our Kids Count–a tradition that has been going on for longer than 30 years when Half-Way Motors was just a Nissan dealership that had a bodyshop in the back.
Collision Repair magazine reached out to Daniel Trevisanutto who commented that “Winederful has evolved a lot over the last 10 years, but the main focus has always remained: raise well-needed funds for Our Kids Count. For over 15 years, OKC has been the charity of choice for the Half-Way Motors Group. We are proud to have helped them through several fundraising campaigns and initiatives, Winederful being one of them. One of the main components of the event is a raffle to win a grand prize of $2,500 to the LCBO for some ‘Christmas spirits.’ The raffle alone brings in over $16,000 and helps generate awareness for the in-person event which is usually held a week or two before Christmas. During the event, many different people of the public and business communities to bid on silent and live auction items, while networking and celebrating the holiday season.”
Trevisanutto continued that “this event is such a key one for Half-Way Motors and Our Kids Count. Many of the supporters of this event are Half-Way customers who also support OKC throughout the year. It is a wonderful way to bring us all together during a time of the year where we can be thankful for each other and what we have, and being able to turn that into a way to help those less fortunate than ourselves. It is very humbling that the support for this continues to be so strong, especially when the news continually highlights how much more difficult it is for families to maintain a proper cost of living for their household. The Thunder Bay community has huge heart, and it shows at nights like this.”
Finally, when asked about the importance of industry events like this, Trevisanutto concluded that “the biggest importance is the funds for OKC. They are a grassroots organization here in Thunder Bay which is focused on providing services and resources to families and young children. More than half of OKC’s operational funds comes from fundraising events like this due to how core funding has changed over the years. Funding increases do not keep pace with the rate of inflation or the need of services, so it becomes increasingly important to make events like Winederful as successful as possible. It is money going directly back into our city where it is needed most.”
Check out photos of the event here.
