In late August, deadly Category 4 Hurricane Ida left devastation in Louisiana before moving to the Northeast coast of the United States including New Jersey. Thousands of residents were displaced many losing power for days or weeks, and businesses in the storm’s wake, including dealerships, were damaged or destroyed. The NADA Foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) immediately mobilized to help their own, the employees working in dealerships whose lives were disrupted by the storm.
Just this week, the ERF hit a major milestone in delivering relief to dealership employees impacted by Hurricane Ida: More than $1 million has been dispersed to over 1,100 dealership families working to rebuild after the catastrophic storm.
“This milestone not only marks an important day for the NADA Foundation, but also highlights the donors who make Emergency Relief Fund grants possible,” said Foundation chairwoman Annette Sykora. “I am honored to be part of an organization that has supported so many of our own employees with financial assistance needed during lifechanging tragedies.”
“This is the kind of thing that makes me so proud to be a car dealer,” said NADA chairman Paul Walser. “Auto dealers I know across this country are very engaged in their communities and what happens. When events like Hurricane Ida happen, car dealers all over the country rally to help and support our brothers and sisters working in dealerships.”
For more than a decade, the Fund has helped dealership employees and their families weather all kinds of natural disasters and tragedies, from Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey to wildfires, tornadoes and floods. The ERF offers affected dealership employees grants of up to $1,500 to help with damages and defray costs before their insurance payouts are available. This aid often allows families who have lost everything to buy food, shelter, diapers and other basic needs during an uncertain, and likely most tragic time, in their lives.
Since its inception in 1992, the Emergency Relief Fund has helped 13,000 dealership employees with grants totaling nearly $10 million.
Thanks to the generous support of dealers and industry partners, the Emergency Relief Fund is able to provide financial assistance to dealership employees affected by natural disasters. Please consider making a donation to the Emergency Relief Fund to help our dealership families. The NADA Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and donations to the Emergency Relief Fund are tax deductible.
