NADA Charitable Foundation to Launch Road Safety Grant Program at Convention

Auto dealers promote road safety initiatives at national convention

McLEAN, Va., Jan. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation has expanded its list of philanthropic programs to include a new grant program to help new-car dealers start or promote road safety initiatives in their communities.

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The NADA Foundation's new Road Safety Grant Program will provide dealers up to $500 toward the sponsorship of a safety event held at the dealership. The grants will be provided as a matching contribution for expenses incurred by dealers holding an event.

"Dealers have been at the forefront of road safety for decades. These grants will encourage dealers to hold even more safety events at their dealerships," said Bob Mallon, chairman of the NADA Foundation. "The combined efforts of dealers across the country will continue to raise consumer awareness of road safety issues in their communities."

Dealers can use these grants to start programs to install child passenger safety seats, promote teen and senior driver safety, educate consumers on rural road safety and combat distracted driving.

Information about the Road Safety Grant Program will be available at the NADA Foundation exhibit (Booth No. 2052) and the Dealers Driving Road Safety exhibit (Booth No. 2246) during the NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas from Feb. 3-6.

NADA convention features Dealers Driving Road Safety exhibit

For the second consecutive year, dealer groups with years of experience hosting safety programs will be staffing the Dealers Driving Road Safety exhibit at the NADA convention.

"Dealers can use these grants to start their own road safety program, tailored to their local needs," said Andy Koblenz, NADA vice president of legal and regulatory affairs.

The following dealership groups and their staff will be available at the Dealers Driving Road Safety exhibit to meet with dealers interested in learning how to host their own road safety programs:

• Jack Fitzgerald, owner of Fitzgerald Auto Malls, with dealerships in Maryland, Florida and Pennsylvania, and senior members of his staff will be on site to answer questions about starting a program to install child passenger safety seats at the dealership. Since 1999, Fitzgerald's dealerships have checked more than 41,300 child passenger safety seats.
• DCH Auto Group Vice Chairman Susan Scarola and other DCH staff will be available to discuss safe teen driving. DCH's teen driving safety initiatives have received national recognition. DCH Auto Group operates 27 dealerships in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and California.
• Incoming NADA Chairman Bill Underriner and employees from Underriner Motors in Billings, Mont., will lend their expertise on rural driving safety. The state of Montana has the highest percentage of rural roads in the nation, according to the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety.

For more information about the upcoming convention, visit www.nadaconventionandexpo.org.

About Dealers Driving Road Safety

The Dealers Driving Road Safety initiative and exhibit was established in 2011 to encourage new-car dealers to host safe driving events at their dealerships, such as promoting child passenger safety, safe teen driving and rural road safety. As part of the exhibit, leading dealers who have been working actively in their communities to improve road safety are available to provide advice to fellow dealers on how to begin their own safety programs at the dealership.

About the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation

The NADA Foundation, established in 1975, is the philanthropic arm of NADA. Funds contributed by new-car and -truck dealers and friends of the industry provide emergency disaster relief, financial support to colleges and universities and community service programs. For more information, visit www.nada.org.

SOURCE National Automobile Dealers Association

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