Van Isle Ford is kicking its fundraising efforts up a notch this weekend for KidSport Alberni.
Van Isle Ford and Ford of Canada will donate $20 for each person who test drives a vehicle at a special Drive One 4 UR School event at the AV Multiplex parking lot Saturday, April 16 between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The event coincides with Soccer Day in the Alberni Valley and will include a barbecue courtesy of Quality Foods.
People will have the opportunity to drive 2011 model Fords such as the Explorer, Edge, Fiesta, F-series Super Duty truck and the F150 with the new eco-boost engine.
The dealership is hoping to raise a maximum of $6,000 for KidSport, dealer principal Wil Pulford said.
“It’s a great thing,” he said of KidSport, a non-profit organization that helps families afford to put their kids in organized sports. “Organized sports are as valuable as an education, if not more so,” Pulford said. “There’s a lot of things you learn being on a sports team and being involved in sport.”
Pulford, who played hockey as a child, said there would have been many more kids able to play hockey if a program such as KidSport had been around.
Last year, Van Isle Ford raised a combined $4,500 over two events, for the Alberni District Secondary School athletic department and Alberni Valley Minor Hockey Association.
This year Ford only granted 200 of the Drive One 4 UR School events to dealership across Canada, so Pulford had to apply.
In addition to the KidSport fundraising, Pulford will also donate $10 per test drive to Van Isle Ford’s Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life team.
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