Driven by a Commitment to Help Children
Published on
Children's View
The Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia (ADAGP) made its first donation to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in 1986: a $50,000 gift following that year’s Philadelphia Auto Show. Since then, the ADAGP and its entities have donated $8.7 million to CHOP. Today, donations are made through the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation, formed in 2003 as the philanthropic arm of the ADAGP with a mission to enrich the lives of children in the communities where their nearly 200 dealer-members work and live.
The ADAGP and the hospital have an inspiring partnership. The Black Tie Tailgate, a festive evening hosted by the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation, kicks off the Philadelphia Auto Show and has benefited various CHOP departments, including nursing, neurology and neonatology. Funded through a multimillion-dollar pledge by the foundation, the ADA CARing for Kids Foundation Patient Welcome Center, located in the Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, is a suite where all families can ask questions, obtain information, and rest and recuperate. The Welcome Center features computer workstations, comfortable seating, a television, luggage lockers, a kosher pantry and a station at which volunteers assist families.
Recently, the Auto Dealers pledged an additional $2.5 million to CHOP — $1 million of which will go toward CHOP’s new inpatient hospital, currently under construction in King of Prussia, Pa., adjacent to CHOP’s Specialty Care & Surgery Center. The gift is evidence of the vital breadth and depth of the Auto Dealers’ support and their commitment to the hospital’s future.
“Our relationship with CHOP is 30-plus years strong,” says Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation. “The reason for this long-standing relationship is because we know how incredibly fortunate we are to have a world-class health institution like CHOP right in our backyard. CHOP’s doctors, nurses and researchers are some of the best at what they do in the entire world. It’s not only an honor to support them, but a necessity.”