Conicelli dealerships to help Driving Away the Cold charity with new winter coats for needy kids

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - Aug. 29, 2013 - PRLog -- As in past years, each Conicelli dealership -- the Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and Toyota Scion dealerships that comprise Conicelli Autoplex (http://www.conicelliautoplex.com), plus Conicelli Toyota Scion of Springfield -- will donate a new winter coat to a needy child with each car sold during the entire month of September, through the Auto Dealers Caring for Kids Foundation's "Driving Away the Cold" program.

In 2012, the Conicelli dealerships donated over 1,500 new winter coats to the program out of a total of over 10,000 donated by local dealerships. Among the organizations receiving coats last year were: 648 coats to Carson Valley Children's Aid; 252 coats to Bright Hope Baptist Church; 54 coats to Missionary of Charity; and 198 coats to Frederick Douglass School/World Impact.

In October the Auto Dealers Caring for Kids Foundation hosted a massive special day of giving at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where 5,750 brand-new winter coats were distributed to students from about 15 elementary schools in the Philadelphia School District.

"In 2011, approximately 80 percent of the students enrolled in the Philadelphia School District were economically disadvantaged," said Claudia S. Averette, M.Ed., deputy chief of Parent, Family, Community Engagement and Faith-Based Partnerships, School District of Philadelphia. "When the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation approached us about collaborating on a coat distribution event, we immediately began planning and offering support on the best way to do it. The end result will be thousands of our students arriving to school warmer, healthier and ultimately more ready to learn. We are thankful to the Foundation and its dealer members for organizing a program such as this."

In just five years, the program has given the gift of a new winter coat to nearly 109,000 children - that totals more than $1.6 million in giving.

This will be the sixth year in a row that the Conicelli dealerships have eagerly participated in the program, and hopes are high that the donations this year will continue the pace of growth seen in the past. For more information on Caring for Kids, or to volunteer, visit http://www.caringforkids.com.

Conicelli Autoplex (http://www.conicelliautoplex.com) is a family-owned new- and used-car dealership group with dealerships near Philadelphia in Conshohocken and Springfield, PA selling new and used Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Scion vehicles. Conicelli Autoplex is the fifth-largest new-car Internet dealership in the nation, according to Wards' Auto's E-Dealer 100, April 2013 issue. Call 1-888-Conicelli (1-888-266-4235) for details and to set up your test drive today at "A Nice Place To Do Business"!