Volkswagen supports classrooms with $1m DonorsChoose.org donation
Volkswagen of America is kicking off its ‘Drive Bigger Summer Event’ by helping teachers and kids in classrooms with a donation of $1m and a campaign to match.
Volkswagen of America Drive Bigger Summer Event
The carmaker’s collaboration with DonorsChoose.org, an online charity dedicated to supporting teachers with funding for classroom projects and basic supplies, gives VW customers, dealers and employees a chance to help teachers prepare for the new school year.
The average public school teacher spends $479 on school supplies. At DonorsChoose.org, teachers request the resources their students need to thrive and donors can choose the ones they want to support. When a project is fully funded, all the requested items are purchased and shipped directly to the school.
Volkswagen’s $1m donation includes both a corporate donation to DonorsChoose.org to directly fund selected classroom projects, as well as funding for DonorsChoose.org donation cards pre-loaded with funds from Volkswagen. Those cards are available for dealers to give to customers during the summer event. Customers who receive a donation card will be able to visit the website and select a classroom project that Volkswagen will support. Volkswagen is also inviting employees to participate in the giving program by offering to match employee contributions from $25 to $2,500.
To support the partnership, a fully integrated national and regional ‘Drive Bigger Summer Event’ campaign kicks off and includes TV and radio spots, digital, social and point-of-sale assets in both English and Spanish language versions. The spot ‘Drop Off’ shows parents dropping off their kids at school while stating that a car company should be more than a ride to school, it should help out those schools. It ends with the tag, “drive something bigger than yourself”.
“Education in our public schools is a fundamental foundation for every student in this country, and DonorsChoose.org is able to support thousands of teachers and students each year,” said Jim Zabel, vice president of marketing for Volkswagen of America. “The Drive Bigger event will allow us to turn our words into action. We think our role as a car company can be much bigger than just building vehicles that take students to and from school. With a focus to support teachers and classroom projects across America, we hope to encourage our Volkswagen dealers and customers to drive something bigger than ourselves.”
Volkswagen is still working on improving its image after the emissions scandal of several years ago.
See the spot by clicking on the Creative Works box below.
