According to Dave Kelleher of David Auto in Chadds Ford, “It’s going to be a monster of an event. The “it” is this year’s Adopt a Child; a charity Kelleher has been working with for 17 years now.
What makes this year’s event monstrous? Several things, Kelleher said.
John Kincade from radio station 97.5 The Fanatic will be doing a live remote broadcast at the dealership on Friday, Dec. 1 from 6-10 a.m. But, also on hand for that broadcast will be three rather large people, Philadelphia Eagles Fletcher Cox, Landon Dickerson, and Jordan Mailata, Kelleher said.
He added that this year’s Adopt a Child will also be bigger because they’re increasing the number of beneficiaries.
“We pledged 600 kids, the same number as last year but last year, due to the generosity of so many we did 1,035 children whom we were able to get toys for,” he said. “The goal this year is 1,200 to 1,400. We’ve already had, just from our social media campaign, over 200 children adopted so far.”
He continued by saying that since he is guaranteeing 600, he would write the check for the remaining number of kids, at $75 apiece. But he goes beyond that.
“Whatever the number is that we get in from the public, I top it with another 300. So, I’m guaranteeing putting in about $22,500. If nobody ever donated, I would do the whole 600 which would be $45,000,” he said.
But people do voluntarily donate, even those who have never bought a car from Kelleher or have never even been to the dealership. He read an email from one such person, a woman from Glen Mills, who said she wasn’t even sure how she found out about Adopt a Child, but said she wanted to adopt five children and buy $100 gift cards from either Acme or Giant so the families can have a good Christmas dinner. And if the families have more than one child, the families would get the cards, one for each child.
It’s not just Kelleher himself, and the people who donate, but the entire Kelleher staff gets involved. For the charity, Kelleher accepts at his dealership on Route 202, cash donations and gifts for kids whose families can’t afford to show that ‘Santa” came to visit on Christmas Eve. Those cash donations should be for $75 per child, and Kelleher’s staff will do the shopping. And for gifts that need assembly, such as bicycles, David Auto’s mechanics will put them together.
And even some of that high-priced athletic talent chips in. Kelleher said Fletcher Cox kicked in $20,000 on his own.
To say that Kelleher likes this particular charity is a major understatement.
“I love it. It’s beyond the simplicity of providing Christmas gifts for children. It’s watching people get better,” he said. “It’s knowing that you’ve touched somebody’s life, made them find their goodness,” he said.
“Touching people with kindness in this world that has so much divisiveness, so much arguing with each other, makes us all better,” he said. “I think it makes us all better to find the heart, and this program makes people see their heart. The best part of this is, when on Christmas morning when you’re enjoying your family, you can think to yourself that there’s somebody you never met, a kid that you never met, that’s opening a gift that morning because of you.”
To donate to the program, people should bring unwrapped gifts to David Auto on Route 202 in Chadds Ford Township by Dec. 9. For more information, send an email to adopt@drivedavid.com or visit www.drivedavid.com/blog/adopt-a-child-program/. Financial donations may be made through PayPal.
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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