The spirit of giving back to the community is once again driving Dave Kelleher. Kelleher, the owner of David Dodge on Route 202 in Chadds Ford Township, is donating his time, energy and money to his charity of nine years, Adopt a Child.
And getting a few extra like-minded “drivers” would help.
Adopt a Child is a gift-giving charity administered through City Team Ministries of Chester. This year, the organization has vetted 2,000 children in need of Christmas presents, Kelleher said.
Last year Kelleher, his employees and other members of the automobile industry in the area managed to raise enough money — $25,000 — to get gifts for 500 kids. He said in a recent interview that, if they reach 500 again, he’ll personally kick in another $5,000 for 100 more children.
City Team has committed to 1,200 children this year and Keller said he always makes a commitment for 300 kids, but hopes to go further.
“If the public, the employees and the corporate sponsors can get me to 300, I’m good for 400. If they get me to 400, then I elevate to 500,” he said.
He said that several television stations in the region give the charity free publicity, which raises more money and gifts so Adopt a Child can help more children.
Still, Kelleher said he’s looking for help from the local community. People can go to drivedavid.com and click on the Adopt a Child icon on the right hand column to learn more. Time is short, though. The deadline is Dec. 16.
“We need help from people, even if they post date the 16th. We can get a donation of any kind to City Team. We’re not going to leave 2,000 children without. We’re just not going to do that,” Kelleher said.
Adopt a Child is similar to Toys for Tots in that benefactors remain anonymous. However, in this situation the benefactors who buy actual gifts — a minimum of two per child — know which child will be the recipient.
The kids write their own wish lists, he said, be they to their parents or whether they’re letters to Santa. The benefactors then either buy two toys from the wish list or donate a minimum of $50 for the child.
“The need is equal,’ Kelleher said comparing the two charities. “But one of the things that makes [Adopt a Child] unique is that it’s in Chester, just eight miles away. We all enjoy a very nice life here [in the Chadds Ford area], we’re all very blessed. But, just eight miles away the struggles are more definitive.”
Yet, he thinks of Chester and the kids there as being part of “our community. It’s our Delaware County.”
He said the other difference between the two charities is that with Adopt a Child, benefactors know the recipients names, the ages and they saw the note they wrote for Santa.
“With our Adopt a Child program, you know you helped Shawn. He needed a bicycle and a GI Joe. He’s getting them that morning, from you, and he’s having the same Christmas morning that others are, and it wouldn’t have happened without you,” he said.
Kelleher has been giving back to the community for years. When the Brandywine Battlefield Park still had Rev Times — the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Brandywine — and the Chadds Ford Historical Society had Chadds Ford Days on the same days, Kelleher paid for shuttle buses for people to go from one event to the other. He also offered to help pay for moving the Chadds Ford Vietnam Memorial before the Wegmans developer offered to give it a new home. (That’s before the memorial was stolen earlier this year.)
Giving is a way of life for him, a way of paying things forward.
“I started with great parents and a modest upbringing. I got myself through school and worked and was blessed. I met a wonderful woman and had two beautiful children. My business prospered. I know hard work came into it, but somewhere along the way, somebody took care of me. I’m in a place right now that I’m very grateful for. I owe back to somebody. I’m a karma kind of guy,” he said.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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