New Jersey Franchised Auto Dealers Honored For Longtime Support of The Valerie Fund

Dealership Community Has Raised Nearly $3 Million For Children With Cancer & Blood Disorders

(November 14, 2022 - Maplewood, NJ) The Valerie Fund is excited to honor New Jersey's franchised new car and truck dealerships, as well as the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJ CAR) as part of its 31st Annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala Friday, November 18, 2022 at The Grove in Cedar Grove, NJ. The partnership between The Valerie Fund and New Jersey's franchised dealers began in 2014 and the support the fundraising efforts made by the dealership community has been remarkable.
The eight-year partnership has raised almost $3 million through various initiatives, including the 2021 PSA campaign for sickle cell with actress and activist, businesswoman and community volunteer Rosario Dawson as the celebrity spokesperson. The campaign ran throughout last September, coinciding with Pediatric Cancer Awareness and Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

Hundreds of franchised New Jersey auto dealerships have participated in a variety of other fundraising initiatives under the New Jersey Auto Retailers Unite Campaign banner and their efforts have made an extraordinary impact on the lives of more than 6,000 children with cancer, sickle cell disease and other blood disorders.
The Valerie Fund Executive Director, Barry Kirschner said, "We are so thankful for the support of NJ CAR and all the New Jersey car and truck dealers in helping the Valerie Fund serve its critical mission of providing individualized care at medical centers close to home. With the help of community partners like New Jersey's dealerships, we are able to provide not just medical support but also emotional, social and developmental support, treating the whole child."

NJ CAR President Jim Appleton shares, "New Jersey's 500+ neighborhood new car dealerships support hundreds of charities in communities throughout the Garden State, contributing nearly $16 million each year to hundreds of worthy organizations in all corners of the State. The partnership with The Valerie Fund shows that these local leaders always respond to those in need. The relationship dealers have had with The Valerie Fund is a testament to the incredible work the Fund does to support thousands of children and their families in New Jersey."

ABOUT THE VALERIE FUND: After their nine-year-old daughter Valerie succumbed to cancer in 1976, Sue and Ed Goldstein were determined that no family should have to travel great distances to receive superior medical care. Along with a group of close friends, they began fundraising efforts from their living room---tireless work that would lead to the 1977 opening of New Jersey's first pediatric oncology facility at Summit's Overlook Hospital.
Forty-five years later, The Valerie Fund's mission remains that of supporting comprehensive health care for children battling cancer and blood disorders.
For more information, please contact Bunny Flanders, Director of Marketing and Communications, at bflanders@thevaleriefund.org or 973-202-1992.

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