By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel
Fresh from launching its name coast-to-coast, AutoNation is starting its first nationwide drive for charity: a push to fight cancer, working with South Florida’s IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay.
The Fort Lauderdale-based auto retailer will contribute an initial $500,000 to match funds raised by its associates and stores through its Racing for Cancer campaign, to be formally announced Wednesday, AutoNation Chief Executive Mike Jackson told the Sun Sentinel.
“So many of our associates’ lives and their families’ lives have been impacted by cancer. Everyone can relate to it,” said Jackson, explaining why AutoNation chose cancer as its first national charity cause. “And we’re entering the critical phase to make tremendous strides against cancer. It’s a winnable fight.”
AutoNation is teaming up with Fort Lauderdale’s Hunter-Reay in the effort for both professional and personal reasons. The respected race car champ lost his mother to colon cancer in 2009 and formed the nonprofit Racing for Cancer to help beat the disease. His group focuses on early detection and prevention, plus efforts to raise awareness and support the fight against childhood cancer.
“Nearly one-third of cancer is said to be preventable,” said Hunter-Reay, 32, in his Racing for Cancer website. “We can and must do more.”
For AutoNation’s top executives, cancer is personal, too. Jackson’s wife, Alice, has battled breast cancer. And the family of company president Mike Maroone has long funded efforts combating cancer through their foundation, helping the Children’s Cancer Caring Center in Weston among other organizations in South Florida and in New York, foundation records show.
Maroone is active with The Dolphins Cycling Challenge, a two-day cycling event in November to raise funds for the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also is a co-chair with his father, Al, on the Cleveland Clinic expansion drive in Florida, including additional cancer facilities.
Both Jackson and Maroone will participate personally in fundraisers during AutoNation’s anti-cancer drive, including cancer walks and events with Hunter-Reay, AutoNation said.
Those include Racing for Cancer’s third-annual Yellow Party in Indianapolis May 23. It’s the top annual fundraiser for Hunter-Reay’s nonprofit, held around the Indianapolis 500 race each year.
AutoNation also plans to take part in race-related events in areas where it has stores: Long Beach and northern California; St. Petersburg and South Florida; Fort Worth and Houston; and Baltimore. It also expects to add Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Denver to that list soon, executives said.
Three-fourths of funds raised through AutoNation for Racing for Cancer will be distributed in the markets where they are collected. The rest will help build a trust fund for the nonprofit, the group said.
The two-year campaign comes as AutoNation unifies the name on most of its dealerships coast-to-coast, taking down the former names of regional dealer groups and replacing them with AutoNation signs. The nation’s largest auto retailer now has more than 200 stores in 15 states and employs 21,000 people.
dhemlock@sunsentinel.com or 305-810-5009
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