Carter Cares

WHAT IS CARTER CARES?

In previous years, Jack Carter Chev has always been involved in many charity events, but for 2016 we decided to go even further to help the community around us. To do this, we needed to identify who needed our help so we called upon our own employees. With over 100 people on the Carter team, there are many opportunities for people who know of charities, community teams, special fundraisers or even a neighbour that's down on their luck. So Carter's asked every employee to identify a recipient and spend $200 each in helping them. Some of the team members even decided to team up to help their recipient.

All photos/videos will be posted here as well as our blog, along with the story and the employees involved. Check back for updates!

GORDIE HOWE CARES HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

Gordie Howe Cares is an annual hockey tournament that is focused on raising money towards Alzheimer's. It has run for the past 3 years, and in that time has raised over $5 million dollars towards Alzheimer's, dementia, and related mental illnesses. It is a full-weekend event, starting on a Friday with a Luncheon and then continuing on throughout the weekend with a draft, where teams of local amateur players pick real NHL Alumni to play for them. The tournament then goes into a 2-day hockey tournament at Winsport Canada.

Jack Carter's itself donated a 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass to the tournament, which was auctioned off at the luncheon. It was sold for $36,500 and all proceeds went to Alzheimer's research.

Several members of Jack Carter staff participated on one of the teams, and got to play with NHL alum such as Curtis Glencross and Gary Roberts. They said that they "didn't win a lot of games, but had a great time".

THIS IS THE FIRST OF A MANY-PART SERIES ON JACK CARTER'S WORK WITH THE MUSTARD SEED CHARITY ORGANIZATION IN CALGARY.

Like all big cities, Calgary has its fair share of people in need. Carter's has done a great deal of charitable work in the past, including our most recent donation to the Humboldt Broncos, their families, and first responders to the accident. In these past months, Jack Carter Chevrolet has seen a new opportunity to help the community around us and extend our ability to give back.

My name is Patrick, I am a 19 year old university student and employee of Jack Carter Chevrolet Buick GMC. In past years, I have worked at Jack Carter's doing work on its website, on the lot, and in parts. This summer, my job will be a bit different. For 2018, Jack Carter's has partnered with The Mustard Seed, a Calgary-based organization started in the 80's that has since then helped people with poverty and homelessness in Calgary.

I will be working there three out of five days a week from Tuesday to Thursday, and the days that I am not I will be keeping this blog. My days will be split into two different shifts, morning and afternoon, and all of my experiences will be updated throughout the weeks.

My experiences there so far have been good but have not been actual work with clients or residents, past small interactions. I have begun my training however, starting just last Thursday with SafeTalk training.

Safetalk is a 3.5 hour workshop that helps Mustard Seed Staff be aware of and recognize the signs of suicide risk. It teaches the signs that a person considering suicide will display, and how to deal with them. It also educates on how to connect these people with the help that they need. I obviously hope that I never have to use this skill, but it certainly is a useful one to have and I am very glad to have this under my belt. Not only is it useful to have in case of actual situations such as these, but attending the workshop also allowed me to get an idea of how some of my relationships with the residents and clients there will work.

I am more than excited to start my real hands-on work at The Mustard Seed, and to help Jack Carter's lend a hand to the community.

#PUTYOURSTICKOUT #STICKSOUTFORHUMBOLDT

'Leave your stick out' took on a new meaning for us at Jack Carter as we were overwhelmed and deeply moved by how our community reacted. It all started by asking for hockey sticks to be left on our doorstep in exchange for a $250 donation to the Humboldt GoFund Me page.

Friday's disastrous Humboldt hockey team bus collision had sent shock and grief through the hockey world, Canada and around the globe. As everyone reacted to the tragedy, we were invited to leave our hockey sticks out on our porch because, 'the boys might need them.' Shortly after the first images started appearing on social media, it quickly spread as a symbolic way to show solidarity.

Like all Canadians, the Humboldt tragedy really hit home for us at the dealership. Growing up many of our staff played hockey at various levels, and being Canadian, there is a great love for the game here.

To show our support, Jay McKee, managing partner, felt compelled to ensure the front porch at Jack Carter also honoured those affected by the Humboldt tragedy. We offered to donate $250 for every hockey stick left at the dealership late Monday night.

Overnight, people came and dropped off their precious hockey sticks. By the morning, we had surpassed our goal of $10,000, and extended the deadline until noon and the goal to $25,000.

"To watch them come in by the ones and the 10s and dozens was just really amazing," McKeen said. "They just kept coming and coming."

By early afternoon, we had received over 300 sticks from hockey moms & dads, coaches and kids. Each stick had a story and was given to help raise money. Seeing all the sticks lined up along the dealership is a moving tribute to the tragedy and the support we want to offer to those affected.

In the end, we increased our donation to $55,000 due to the incredible response from Calgarians.

Even though we've reached our goal, we will continue to collect sticks until the end of the week, which can also be dropped off at our associated stores: Canyon Creek Toyota, Rocky Mountain Honda Powerhouse and Pro-Am Motorsports / Adventure Honda. All sticks will be given to Comrie's Sports Equipment Bank which supports KidSport for less fortunate kids in the Calgary area, and The Hockey Foundation which promotes hockey internationally in non-traditional areas like India and South America. These stick donations will be made in memory of the Humboldt Broncos.

CARTER CARES SUPPORTS AIRDRIE 8TH SCOUTS

At Jack Carter, we are proud of the deep connections our staff has with the community. Today, we are celebrating an organization close to many of our staffs' hearts, the Airdrie 8th Scouts.

Airdrie ScoutsAs a growing Scouts program, the Airdrie 8th Scouts are dedicated to providing high-quality youth programing to children in the Airdrie community. They are committed to developing a sense of adventure through the discovery of new things and experiences, while preparing children to be confident, well-rounded and successful individuals. With such a robust commitment to young people, our team felt strongly about supporting the development of tomorrow's leaders. Five of our employees have pledged their Carter Cares money to the children of the Airdrie 8th Scouts.

In early June, we met with local scouts and the Airdrie Scouts Group Committee and presented them with a cheque for $1000. The donation was used to fund a seven-day hike on the West Coast Trail in Vancouver.

We are excited to see this donation support the children of Airdrie and expand their sense of adventure and discovery.

ALBERTA STRONG CHALLENGE FOR FORT MCMURRAY

Our hearts and prayers are with all families impacted by the Fort McMurray wildfires.

As a proud Alberta business, we've been overwhelmed by the devastation and the immediate need for support for the Fort McMurray evacuees. And so, Jack Carter is proud to donate $10,900, and we're challenging other Calgary businesses to give too.

We've all seen terrifying videos of vehicles racing down highways surrounded by walls of fire. Homes destroyed. And more than 80,000 Fort McMurray residents forced to evacuate. The massive wildfire in Alberta has triggered the largest-fire related evacuation in the province's history.

John Bowerman in an email to everyone at Jack Carter explained how he wanted to use the Carter Cares program to donate to the Red Cross's Alberta Fire Appeal. John said, "In speaking to others here, they agree. I personally donated to the Red Cross Relief Fund on Monday, and will probably do it again. There are a number of businesses in Calgary donating to this crisis, and it would be good for Jack Carter and all of us to get involved in some way."

"I too have been moved by the events in Fort McMurray," Jay McKeen, owner of Jack Carter, told staff. "I really think we should do something on an even bigger scale as a dealership and on behalf of all 109 of us."

After approaching the Motor Dealer Association, Jack Carter has added our $10,900 to the fund that they have set-up. Donations will be given to the Red Cross through the fund in order to qualify for Provincial & Federal matching dollars. While other types of donations are appreciated, the overwhelming information that we've been given is that cash is what is needed now and it's needed quickly to help.

To participate, we're asking other businesses to donate within 24 hours of being challenged. It can be through the Motor Dealer Association of Alberta or directly to The Red Cross on their website www.redcross.ca or by phoning 1-800-418-1111.

"At Jack Carter, we deeply care about the community around us," says Jay. "We can never help too much when it comes to those less fortunate."

CARTER CARES RIDES FOR JOHNSON MS BIKE AIRDRIE TO OLDS

TEAM MEMBERS POOL THEIR MONEY TOGETHER FOR VETERANS FOOD BANK

CARTER'S EMPLOYEES PROVIDING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION

At the beginning of the summer, 16 of our team members decided they would get a little creative with their donation. Ken, Bob, James, Rory, Ritchie, Don, Gord, Eric, Dale, Glen, Chris, Darren, Bert, Jeff, Cosimo and Kirk teamed up and put their money together. The recipient of this donation is a lady named Carol H., who has physical disabilities and requires a wheelchair. These 16 team members put their funds together and bought her an electric mobility scooter, adding their own touch to it with a Jack Carter Emblem on the rear. Carol and her husband were extremely grateful for the donation, and wrote the group a letter thanking them, including a photo of her on the scooter. To the left is a picture of some team members with the scooter, her husband with the scooter, the emblem on the back, as well as the letter.

Carter's is very proud to be involved with this team and their contribution.

12TH ANNUAL HERITAGE PARK/JACK CARTER CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC

On Saturday, June 25 to Sunday, June 26, Jay, Richard and Jared from the dealership along with Mark DeBoon took to their bikes to ride in The Johnson MS Bike Tour.

Beginning in Airdrie, our team cycled over 160 km to Olds and back during the two-day event. The weather on day one definitely made the ride more challenging for our riders as they faced a 25 km/h headwind which at times gusted to 60 km/h. They rode through rain, then driving rain, and even hail to complete the first day. Under normal conditions, our riders could have completed it in 2 hours 45 minutes, but given the conditions it took them 3.5 hours. As Jared said, "we were all glad that we pushed through and never gave in to the conditions." On day two, our team had an easier time returning the 88 km from Olds to finish in Airdrie.

MS Bike is the largest cycling series in North America to raise money to end Canada's disease. Canada has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, with an estimated 100,000 Canadians living with the disease. MS Bike has more than 10,000 cyclists in one- or two-day events from June to September through scenic and often spectacular parts of the country.

We're proud of our fundraising efforts and glad to give $2,240 for the cure to help end MS.

For over 50 years, Jack Carter Chev has been a big supporter of the Heritage Park Foundation. For the past 12 of those years Jack Carter has partnered with Heritage Park to run the Annual Heritage Park/Jack Carter Charity Golf Classic. It was a large success, as it has been in previous years, and ended with over $60,000 raised. This year Carter's contributed something interesting as a possible hole in one prize as well. A beautiful 1956 Chevy Bel Air would go to whoever scored a hole in one. Unfortunately, nobody made one on the day, and the car remains at Carter's. Jack Carter's is extremely pleased to continue supporting Heritage Park, and to continue this traditional golf tournament. To learn more about Carter's Classic Cars, click here, or click the Carter Classics drop down menu above. To learn more about Heritage Park and the Heritage Park Foundation, click here.

Recently, 12 Carter's Team Members got together and pooled their $200 for a total of $2400 towards the Calgary Veteran's Food Bank. To learn more about the Veteran's Food Bank and the Canadian Legacy Project, click this link here.

DONATION TO THE CALGARY HOMICIDE SUPPORT SOCIETY

Another group of Carter's team members decided to pool their money, this time for the Calgary Homicide Support Group, a local organization that helps families of homicide victims. Pictured to the left is about half of the contributors presenting the donation of $5000 to Karen Venables, the group's president. Here is a link to the CHSS website, click it to learn more.

CALGARY CHAMPION LIFE CENTRE CHRISTMAS HAMPERS

In November 2016, three of the Jack Carter team members put their money towards supporting the Calgary Champion Life Center, a Christian charity organization. The team member's donations went towards supporting fourteen families in Brenda's House (a family emergency shelter) with Christmas hampers. Learn more about Champion Life Centre here and the Brenda Strafford Foundation here.