Findlay Volkswagen holds show, drive for needy

Members of Findlay Volkswagen Henderson spotted a need in their community recently, and it wasn’t long before a marketing effort by the dealership generated a slam-dunk of goodwill.

The month of July led to supporting the Henderson Chamber of Commerce’s Community Cares Pajama Drive, which collects that clothing for men, women and children. The collection will be donated to S.A.F.E. House Nevada through the end of the month. S.A.F.E. stands for Stop Abusing Family Environment.

Findlay Volkswagen marketing director Marcy Colletti said that many people who count on S.A.F.E. House simply don’t have the necessary attire.

“We have discovered that oftentimes when people go to S.A.F.E. House for help, they come with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” Colletti said. “Findlay Volkswagen and S.A.F.E. House want to help them get cleaned up and in a clean, fresh pair of PJs right away.”

To generate awareness of the cause, the Volkswagen community quickly created an impressive car show highlighting models of VWs during what was deemed the Euro PJ Cruise.

“To raise awareness and get the community involved in donating, we had a pajama party where we had a movie night for the kids along with the car show for the adults,” Colletti said. “The car show was presented at RC Willey in Summerlin.”

The car show then found its way to Findlay Volkswagen Henderson in the Valley Automall. Each driver brought a pair of pajamas to donate to the cause.

A movie night for the kids was presented at the dealership and was bolstered by the social media efforts on behalf of the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada and the Vegas Dads Group.

A nice touch was added when the youngsters rode Volkswagen buses from Summerlin to Findlay Volkswagen. Each car was equipped with a pair of pajamas donated by attendees.

Attendees also were welcomed to the event with popcorn, candy and goodie bags with a model Volkswagen Box Bus.

Miss UNLV Myra Dvorak made a special appearance dropping the first pair of pajamas into the donation box to kick off the event. Vegas Benny, the ice-skating dog who works with the Golden Knights, also made an appearance and dropped off some pajamas. In all, 350 pairs of pajamas were donated at Findlay Volkswagen Henderson.