Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Uftring Donates to Children's Hospital of Illinois

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. ” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Serving others and helping those less fortunate is rewarding. This is especially true and heartbreaking when those in need are children, some of whom are literally fighting for their very lives. Uftring Auto Group was proud to raise and donate over $5,700 dollars to the Children's Hospital of Illinois through its Uftring Ambassador initiative. The donation was made at the Uftring Automall on Wednesday, October 12.

Liesl Peters (l) presents the check to Wendy Mitchell (r) Annual Fund Director of Children's Hospital of Illinois

This strong fund raising event was spearheaded in honor of one of the team members at Uftring Auto Group, Liesl, who has been a patient at the Children's Hospital. Each of the six Uftring Auto Group dealerships accepted donations from employees and customers to benefit the Children's Hospital. Gary Uftring matched all of the donations in an effort to make the impact each individual contribution twice as valuable.

Wendy Mitchell speaks about the Children's Hospital
In June the Uftring Ambassadors took part in the Walk for Crohn's and Colitis to raise money and awareness to fight these diseases. A casual Friday was held where employees could make a donation in order to dress down for a day. Pot lucks were held at some of the stores, a tasty way to bring in additional funds.

Liesl relates her gratification for all of the support she received from Uftring team members

Liesl picked out a hospital grade heated blanket warmer as the gift to the Children's Hospital. In her address to the audience, Liesl talked about how most of the patients are very young children, much younger than herself, and she thought they could use a "nice toasty blanket." There's no arguing with that logic or warm heart. Liesl related how thankful she was for the service and care she received from the doctors and nurses, and how extremely pleased she was with her experience there. She's contemplating pursuing a career in medicine.

Kirk Johnson (CFO Uftring Auto Group) talks about supporting those around you and the courage and tenacity of Liesl's fight

Each month the Uftring Auto Group is proud to support a worthy and charitable cause in the community through its Uftring Ambassador initiative. We hope you'll be able to join us, but please get involved in any way you can to make a positive impact on your community.