We’ve been so inspired lately by stories about our customers’ resilience and dedication to their neighbors. Dealerships are part of the fabric of our communities. From sponsoring Little League teams to guiding teens and their families through first car purchases, dealerships fuel monumental moments in our lives. So today, in times of change in all our communities, it is inspiring to see how dealerships are stepping up to serve their communities in new ways.
While there are more stories than we can count, one that really stood out to us comes from St. Charles, Illinois. Last week, Fox Valley Automotive Group there reached out to our Support staff with a request – “help us serve our community.”
Gabrielle Abinion, general manager for Fox Valley’s Volkswagen of St. Charles dealership, called because she needed to add vehicles to her Dealerware platform in order to track, insure, and manage them while they were out on a very special contract.
Those vehicles were part of a fleet that Abinion and her team were driving into downtown Chicago to deliver to nurses at Northwestern’s Lurie Children’s Hospital. Nurses who have to walk 4 miles home from work after a 12-hour shift, or who have to rely on public transportation not built with pandemics in mind.
Abinion and the Fox Valley team figured that if they could help medical professionals get to and from work more quickly and safely – then those people could save more lives.
"During this pandemic, people’s lives are full of fear, frustration and anxiety, and one of the things I found helps is to take the focus off ourselves and put the focus on other people. We’re going to get through this together, and hopefully the good thing that comes out of it is people helping people.”
Fox Valley Automotive Group’s core value is rooted in two words – Moving People. In this case, Abinion had to move fast to deliver maximum benefit to her community, and Dealerware Support agent Alexis C. was ready to help.
Just 30 minutes before delivering the donated cars, Abinion realized she needed to add several vehicles from Fox Valley’s Buick GMC inventory to Dealerware, so that all the paperwork could be automated. With little time to spare, Alexis at Dealerware got to work and was able to get all the vehicles ready to go by the time Abinion and her team pulled into the hospital drive.
So, just days after the idea to donate rides was sparked (and on Good Friday, no less) Fox Valley Automotive Group were moving people for the benefit of their whole community.
As we navigate through these uncharted waters today and adjust to a new normal tomorrow, one thing remains the same – we have the opportunity to be bigger than ourselves. Small moments can make a big impact when we work together.
We’ll continue to be here, working hand-in-hand with you. We will continue to be inspired by your innovation and resiliency.
And we’re proud to be part of your journey.
If you’re interested in seeing more about Fox Valley Automotive Group’s story check it out here.
