Gunther Motor Co. Devotes May GiveBack Campaign to Food For The Poor to Build Homes in Guatemala
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 1, 2019) Gunther Motor Co. is devoting its May GiveBack Campaign to Food For The Poor to build homes in Guatemala, celebrating the grand opening of its new Volvo dealership in Coconut Creek.
For every car purchased or leased in May at all South Florida Gunther dealerships, Gunther Motor Co. will donate $50 to Food For The Poor. Volvo will match the donation for cars purchased or leased from the new Volvo dealership and from Gunther’s Volvo dealership in Delray Beach.
Their combined generosity will help the charity build 30 two-bedroom homes with clean water and sanitation for families seeking safe shelter in Los Pirires, Guatemala.
Gunther Motor Co. kicked off the campaign Monday night at the new dealership, 4350 N. State Road 7, Coconut Creek, with friends of the business, Food For The Poor staff and executives from Gunther and Volvo attending.
Rob Klein, General Manager of Gunther Volvo Cars Coconut Creek and Gunther Volkswagen Coconut Creek, said one of Gunther’s greatest opportunities as a local business is to give back to the community.
“We’re going to try to sell as many cars as we can to help out poor families in Guatemala living in unsafe conditions,” Klein said.
Gunther Vice President Joe Gunther said his family has always looked for meaningful ways to help others. Gunther Motor Co. is a longtime donor to Food For The Poor, whose headquarters have been based in Coconut Creek for the past 12 years.
“We know the donations from this GiveBack Campaign are going to help those who need it most,” Gunther said.
Food For The Poor Executive Vice President Ed Raine thanked Gunther Motor Co. and Volvo for making a difference in the lives of those living with dire needs in Guatemala.
Most homes in the remote community of Los Pirires are built with scraps, poles holding up the roofs and anything that can be stuffed into holes in the walls to create makeshift insulation. Inside, the floors are dirt and there’s usually only one room where everyone congregates to cook, eat, sleep and seek refuge from the rain.
The cold, rain and dust easily penetrate the flimsy walls, causing respiratory illnesses, especially in children.
Raine recently traveled to Guatemala and met Juliana, a 70-year-old woman caring for two adult children with special needs. Her husband is 74 and can barely work because of his weak legs that cause him severe pain. When he does work, he can earn up to $12 a week. To help the household, Juliana sells tortillas earning close to $4 every week.
Juliana also has another daughter and three granddaughters “all living under what can only be described as a shack,” Raine said.
Smoke from an indoor stove used for cooking permeated the air.
“This is what you’re about to help us transform. This is who we are going to be able to help because of your generosity,” Raine said, using Juliana as an example of the people who will be helped in Los Pirires. “We are so grateful for the Gunther family for selecting Food For The Poor. It is such a special relationship when a for-profit business partners with a nonprofit. Our plan is to make us all feel great for what you are setting in motion.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned or abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]