SoCal928s Drive for Charity 2020 - Wheels 4 Meals

[Ladybug83]

Good morning everyone,


Calling for the attention of all folks in Southern California:



I hope everyone is doing ok and fending off the cabin fever. About 6 weeks ago, my work slowed a little and I had some free time on hand. With that free time, I set out to resolve a few nagging issues on my 928, but with my ham hands, I tend to make more issues than I can resolve. Frustrated, I started thinking about what else I could do to pass the time. A different kind of project.

Fast forward to today, I’m excited to announce SoCal928s Drive 4 Charity 2020, titled Wheels 4 Meals. With much help from others, I’ve planned and organized a covid-responsible drive through the local mountains, where the drivers that participate in the event can elicit monetary pledges from their friends and family, who will, after the event, donate their pledges to Meals on Wheels OC. It’s a simple concept, for what it is, but I’m hoping we can make a big difference to the Meals on Wheels organization by just getting out and driving for a few hours on a Saturday morning. And really who, at this time, doesn’t want to get out and go for a drive? As things start opening up, still most, if not all, of our cars-n-coffees and other events are still canceled. I thought this might be a good alternative that could make a difference for those who need it.



I’ve tried to make the event convenient for people to participate. With the go-ahead from a couple of the original founders of the former club, I’ve created a website at www.SoCal928s.com. The website serves as a base for the Wheels 4 Meals event, and is the place to register for the drive, donate to Meals on Wheels – OC, and I’ve also added a blog page that we can populate with comments, photos, etc. The website details the date, route and schedule for the driving event as well as some info about Meals on Wheels and some of what they do for our community. It shows the event gifts and prizes for the registered drivers, and also for the folks that sponsors those drivers and donate to Meals on Wheels – OC.



This is not a 928 exclusive event. PLEASE reach out to anyone you know that may be interested in helping us, help Meals on Wheels - OC. Other Porsche fans, other makes and models, motorcycle clubs, hot rods, EV folks! Please bring along anyone that wants to help. Direct them to www.SoCal928s.com to register to drive. The more the merrier.



In a nutshell, here’s how to participate.

1) If you live in the area, go to www.SoCal928s.com and register to drive! The drive event is on Saturday June 6, 2020 and starts at 8:00am. Save the date! Get friends to sign up too!

2) Reach out to your friends, family and extended community and gather pledges of nickels, dimes and dollars / per mile driven. Any amount helps. Make a list of these pledges for yourself to keep track.

3) Come drive with us on Saturday June 6, 2020 at 8:00am starting at the Meals on Wheels facility in Anaheim! Event gifts will be dispersed! Event T-shirts will be available for sale. “Lattes on Location” will be donating their time and resources and providing coffee for the driving participants! CHP will be attending in the morning for a safety brief and to get us started on our route! We’ll take off from Anaheim, head north to the foothills, and do a counter-clockwise circle around and through the San Bernardino and Angeles Forests. I’ve inserted a couple Rally Points along the way at cafes where we can stretch, get a snack and use restrooms, need be. Breakfast options (eggwich or breakfast burrito) will be provided at Rally Point 1 for those who want it. The entire route is about 150-200 miles, depending on where you live, and 2.5hrs of actual driving. Factor in 30-40min at each Rally Point, and we’ll finish up around 12:30pm. More details are at www.SoCal928s.com.



While this will be a fun event, and we will socialize, we must perform in a responsible manner given the current circumstances and out of respect for Meals on Wheels and the folks they serve. Therefore, everyone will be asked to use a face covering and keep distanced, at all times while not in their vehicle. Thanks for understanding. I’m hopeful that at this time next year, we can do this again in a more “normal” fashion.



4) After the event, reach out again to the folks that pledged for you. Ask them to visit www.SoCal928s.com, where they can click the link to the Meals on Wheels – OC Donation Page, which was created by MOW exclusively for our event. From that donation page, they will be able to donate directly to Meals on Wheels – OC using their credit or debit card. Meals on Wheels will send them a “thank-you” email containing tax ID info for their donation.

a. When they donate on the Meals for Wheels website, they will have the option to enter your name, as the driver, so you are eligible for the fundraising prizes.

b. They will also have the option of entering their name and mailing address so we can send them some event gifts (stickers and keychains).

c. They can donate anonymously if they’d like.

d. Billing info will not be shared or provided to SoCal928s.com. Only the optional name, mailing address, and driver-fundraising amounts will be shared with SoCal928s.com so we can send event gifts to the folks that donate, and award fundraising prizes to drivers.

e. The donation window will close on July 4, 2020.



There’s more detail at www.SoCal928s.com, and feel free to post or PM me questions. Given that this is the first time I’ve organized an event like this, there may be some technical glitches, but please let me know if anything is not fluid and I’ll make sure to handle it expediently and thoroughly.



It’s been very rewarding to work on this project with the folks at Meals on Wheels – OC and they are very excited to see us in action. I also need to extend nine hundred and twenty eight “thank-yous” to the folks that helped me create logos, the website and those that served as council for this endeavor. And also the most generous vendors and supporting bodies that are donating their resources for a great cause.



I’ll thank you all in advance, because I’m leaning on everyone in the Southern California community to make this event as exceptional as I know it can be. Please register and come drive with us on June 6, 2020! Please blast the message out to anyone who might want to join us or sponsor a driver! I have no doubt we can make a real difference and I’m looking forward to seeing you all there!



Josh

[Ladybug83]

Hi*folks,
Hope everyone is well. It certainly is interesting times upon us.*

But it’s also sunny and cool! Perfect driving conditions and the mountains are full of green! Come drive the local National Forests and please, everyone in Orange County, come support the local Meals on Wheels.


This is not a 928-exclusive event. Please encourage all of your car and motorcycle enthusiast friends to register and join us for the drive event!
​​​​​​​

Meet us on June 6, 2020 at 8:00am at Rally Point 1! 1200 N. Knollwood Circle in Anaheim 92801



Don’t wait! Go to SoCal928s.com to register and for details about the event. From there you can:

·***** Learn more about Meals on Wheels – OC

·***** Register to come drive with us

·***** Print the route and schedule

·***** Link to Meals on Wheels to make a donation directly

·***** Check out the event Gifts and Prizes

·***** Check out some recent event blog photos

[Ladybug83]

Just a couple more days until the Drive for Charity 2020 Wheels 4 Meals event! Come drive with us and make a difference for the elders in our community who need help getting food on their table. They’ve given us their everything, now let’s give back and take care of our own! Every participant and donation matters immensely! Please go to SoCal928s.com to register and join us on June 6 for this awesome drive through the mountains.

Did I mention free coffee and breakfast?

Grab the kids! Skip the board meetings! Show your support for our community and let’s go drive!

[Ladybug83]

It’s time to drive! Last call for the SoCal928s Drive for Charity 2020 Wheels 4 Meals event! Meet us at Meals on Wheels in Anaheim tomorrow morning at 8am and don’t miss your chance to make a difference for the elders in our community that need our help now more than ever. Come drive with us and support Meals on Wheels – OC! Nothing could be easier, more appreciated and more fun.

Find all the details, register and donate to Meals on Wheels - OC at SoCal928s.com

[Ladybug83]

Hi folks,
Just got the photos from the drive event today, and they're fantastic. The drive though, was a bit of a bust. Just a handful of folks joined us on Saturday, and of all things, rain, squelched the event that maybe was never meant to be.

I do want to thank Mark and Renee at 928 International and Chris and Zach at European Collectibles for showing up and supporting the cause. Unfortunately, everyone ran for the garage when the rain started to fall, and frankly I don't blame them given the beautiful cars they brought out for the morning. My wife and I trudged through, wet, but with spirits high. We had a great breakfast at Mountaintop Cafe in Phelan and got to spend some time there with Lydia who was gracious in offering her restaurant for our event. Thank you Lydia. If you're ever running across Hwy 138, make sure to stop and grab a bite at this historic eatery.

A big thank you to our friends Chris Burgon and his wife Yasuko for joining us and taking some great photos of the ongoings. Some of which are included in this post, and more will be posted on the SoCal928s blog page. We owe you several bbqs. Thank you for supporting the cause and donating your time.

I also want to extend a big thank you to the folks at Meals on Wheels - OC, Susan, Holly, Darla, and Liz who welcomed us with great exuberance and really showed me the ropes of what it takes to organize an event like this. They are quite the organization and they are in desperate need of any support we can give them as a community. As a reference point, they typically serve 7,000 meals per week, but since the beginning of "the covid", they've been serving closer to 43,000 meals per week. Yikes!

The donations are going modestly well and we've raised a couple thousand dollars so far. The donate page will be open until July 4th. If you can, please throw a five or a ten spot in the hat, it makes a huge difference to the elderly folks that are served every day by Meals on Wheels. To donate, go to https://socal928s.com/donate/ and click on the red Meals on Wheels link, which will take you to the donation page that they made for this event. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Make sure to send me a PM or email (joshua_handler@hotmail.com) so I can send you an event t-shirt, stickers and tire pressure keychain. Also, if you donate and own a 928, make sure to contact Mark at 928 International for a $50 gift certificate for used parts. Thanks again everyone

[Ladybug83]

Hi everyone Happy 4th!

Just a reminder that today is the final day for donations on behalf of the SoCal928s Wheels 4 Meals Charity Drive. It's been a great experience organizing this event for the folks at Meals on Wheels - OC, and I hope we can do it again next year.

While I know that times are tough, I'm respectfully hopeful that anyone in or with ties to Orange County, if you can, please visit SoCal928s.com/donate/ and donate $5 or more to the folks at Meals on Wheels - OC. They really have an exceptional organization running over in Anaheim and they are working harder than ever to get meals to elderly folks in our community who cannot get out to the store on their own. Since the Covid, the number of participants receiving meals has grown exponentially and Meals on Wheels - OC could use as much help as we can afford them. Please take just a minute and make whatever donation you can.*

To donate, visit SoCal928s.com/donate and click on the Meal on Wheels - Orange County link. That will take you directly to the Meals on Wheels donation page for our fundraising event and you can donate directly to Meals on Wheels using you credit or debit card. You don't have to register on SoCal928s.com in order to donate. Check out our blog page while your there. You also can donate anonymously if you choose to do so, but if you leave your name and mailing address on the donation page, I'll send you a t-shirt, some stickers and a tire pressure gauge emblazoned with the event logo! (PM or email me you shirt size) Also, those who submit there name and address will also be eligible for the handmade leather prizes. Check them out at SoCal928s.com on the Gifts page.

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, and special thanks to those who helped make this fundraising event possible. Next week I'll get the list of donations from Meals on Wheels, announce the fundraising winners and mail out the t-shirts and event swag.

Thanks again everyone and Happy 4th! Cheers!

Josh
​​​​​​​joshua_handler@hotmail.com

[Ladybug83]

Hi folks,
Hope everyone is wrapping up a great weekend.

We have officially closed the donation page for the SoCal928s.com "Drive for Charity 2020 - Wheels 4 Meals" which fully benefitted Meals on Wheels - OC and I want to thank everyone who helped make this event happen and also announce the fundraising winners.

First, the folks at Meals on Wheels - OC, were so gracious and helpful, sharing with me ideas and strategies to make this event a success. Juana, Liz, Susan, Holly and Darla. Many many thanks for your support and encouragement. I hope we can do it again next year. For the folks that may not know, Meals on Wheels is the real deal. The 2019 Ca Non-Profit of the Year! They have so many great programs for seniors and do so much more than deliver food. They constantly provide such resources that allow our senior community members to thrive. They deserve our gratitude.

Mark and Rene Anderson at 928International
Maria Dumas at Lattes on Location
Lidia at Mountaintop Cafe in Phelan
the folks at Hill Street Cafe in Flintridge/La Canada
Officer Sanchez at CA Highway Patrol
The Forest Service Rangers at Angeles National Forest
my broker at Driscoll & Driscoll for the insurance policy

A great effort by all of the above in order to make this event happen, and on short notice. My sincerest thanks.

The donation page for this event is now closed, and at the end of the event, this fundraiser has generated over $1,800 for the folks at Meals on Wheels - OC. While, it seems like a modest sum, it's enough to provide over 150 days of meals for someone that needs it desperately. Someones mother, father, sister/brother. A retired vet perhaps, or maybe a retired teacher or factory worker. That certain someone, also gets to see a friendly face for 150 days. Gets to have some social contact with someone, for 150 days. They are embraced in our community for another 150 days. They'll have a healthier life, physically and mentally, for 150 days. Thank you for everyone who donated a couple bucks. If you didn't get a chance, you can still go to the standard Meals on Wheels donation page and make a contribution. If you do, let me know and I'll send you some shwag from the event.

Some outstanding fundraising efforts were made in order to support this great senior-serving charity!
1) Mark Anderson not only raised the most monetarily for Meals on Wheels - OC, but his and Rene's acceptance and support during the organization of this event was incredibly helpful and keystone to it's modest success. My deepest thanks. I'll bring by your custom 928 wallet in the coming days.

2) My mom! Jeez mom LOL, just like a mom to support her sons efforts. She raised the second largest amount donated to Meals on Wheels. Thanks Mama!

3) We have a three-way tie for the 3rd-most raised. Thank you so much for your generosity to a cause that is not even local to you! You have my sincerest gratitude. I'll be sending out the fundraising gifts shortly.
Frank Derose in King of Prussia, PA
Tom Middleton in Olympia, WA
The Handler family in Dallas, TX (my brothers family)

Also, all of the event t-shirts, stickers and keychains will be sent out this week to the folks that donated. Thank you all so much.

Well, the first one is "in the books". Thank you again for everyone who helped out with this event. I'll be keeping the SoCal928s website for the time being and I'm hoping to put on this event next year if there is interest. I'd greatly appreciate any feedback on how we can make it more successful year by year. Please don't be shy to respond with suggestions publicly or privately. Thanks again. Be well everyone

Josh