As you know, car and truck dealerships in the Southeast and along the Eastern seaboard are picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ida, one of the worst storms ever recorded. Today, employees who work at those dealerships and their families need our help.

Since the storm and as folks on the ground survey the damage at hand, NADA and the NADA Foundation mobilized our Emergency Relief Fund to quickly and efficiently deliver relief aid to dealership employees who suffered damage.

NADA’s Emergency Relief Fund offers affected dealership employees grants of up to $1,500 to help with damages and defray costs before insurance payouts. This aid often allows families who have lost everything to buy food, shelter, diapers and other basic needs. Employees impacted by Hurricane Ida can apply for assistance on the Foundation website at www.nadafoundation.org.

The Fund has helped dealership families after major hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires and many other emergencies through the years. Since its inception in 1992, the Emergency Relief Fund has helped 12,000 dealership employees with grants totaling nearly $9 million.

Given the severe damage of Hurricane Ida, we have received more than 500 applications from dealership employees seeking assistance. The Fund plans to offer assistance to every employee who qualifies, but we can’t do it alone. We need help from the dealership community to replenish the Emergency Relief Fund as we continue to receive assistance requests at the rate they have been coming in.

Please consider making a donation to the Emergency Relief Fund to help our dealership families. Dealers, state and metro dealer associations and industry partners such as Ally Financial and Assurant Insurance are stepping up. The NADA Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and donations to the Emergency Relief Fund are tax deductible.

You can donate on the NADA Foundation’s website. 

Now is the time to act. Without our help, dealership families may not get the help they need.