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For greater than 70 years, the Land Rover Defender has been the car of selection for individuals making a constructive dent on the planet. That’s why Land Rover launched the Defender Service Awards—to acknowledge and help organizations which can be contributing to the well being of their communities, the atmosphere, and extra. Now in its third 12 months, this system rewards winners with a personalized Defender 130 and a money prize. Public voting for the 2023 Defender Service Awards takes place from September 15 via October 4, so be sure you click here to be taught extra, meet the finalists, and forged your vote.
And sure, your vote issues. This previous 12 months, 5 winners every went dwelling with a Defender 130 and $25,000, and 25 finalists took dwelling an extra $5,000 every courtesy of title sponsor CHASE. It will get even higher in 2023: this 12 months, six Defender 130 automobiles will likely be awarded, class sponsors (Animal Planet, Pelican, ei3, Hearts and Science, and Exterior Interactive) will donate $25,000 every to the winners, and all 30 finalists will every get an extra money prize from CHASE ($5,000) and Warner Bros. Discovery ($2,500). That form of help can rework a nonprofit’s packages, current and future. Listed here are two of final 12 months’s successful nonprofits and the way their important work is benefiting from the award.
Mercy Cooks
Neighborhood Providers Award (Introduced by ei3)
“Simply go feed individuals.” As a mission assertion, it’s laborious to get extra clear. That’s what Mercy Chefs has been doing since 2006, however the readability of the nonprofit’s mission can obscure an underlying perception that the group delivers with each plate of meals: one thing wonderful occurs over a shared meal. The Virginia-based nonprofit isn’t simply delivering energy, it’s additionally spreading love, connection, and neighborhood.
Mercy Cooks does this on a number of fronts: feeding victims, volunteers, and first responders after pure disasters; creating neighborhood kitchens in choose places; and delivering grocery containers to food-insecure populations. That provides as much as hundreds of thousands of meals. Its cellular kitchens alone can cook dinner and serve 20,000 sizzling meals per day.
That’s the place the Defender Service Award is available in. “Including the Defender 130 to our fleet of automobiles lets us attain distant areas with meals,” says Nick Beckman, director of logistics and services at Mercy Cooks. “When the Virginia Seaside twister struck proper in our yard, the Defender 130 went with our response workforce. When telephones are down and roads are a multitude, we are able to simply load 300 meals into the Defender 130 and go. We at all times wish to be quicker responding to disasters, and the Defender 130 makes me really feel assured we are able to ship anybody nearly wherever.” Watch Mercy Cooks in motion here.
Appalachian Bear Rescue
Animal Welfare Award (Introduced by KONG)
The bear inhabitants is rising within the Southeast, which implies extra orphaned cubs and injured yearlings that need assistance. Fortunately, Appalachian Bear Rescue, the Tennessee-based rehabilitation and schooling nonprofit that received the 2022 Animal Welfare Award, is properly outfitted for the job.
“The Defender 130 permits us to do what we do higher,” says Dana Dodd, govt director of Appalachian Bear Rescue. “It’s a way more dependable car than the older automobiles we now have. It’s safer to take rescue calls and is much extra suited to move supporters and visitors to bear launch occasions.” Yearly, the group cares for about 30 rescued bears, working with wildlife officers to determine animals in want, after which rehabbing and releasing them again into the wild.
Whereas the practical advantages of the Defender 130 are clear, Dodd says there are additionally intangible advantages which can be simply as necessary. “The most important impression has been the advertising and title recognition that the Defender 130 brings to Appalachian Bear Rescue,” Dodd says. “We’ve by no means had a car with our brand or a car that’s so simply recognizable. Each time we drive the brand new Defender 130, of us discover us and find out about our mission.” Watch the workforce within the subject here.
In the case of treating sick and injured younger bears, the College of Tennessee Faculty of Veterinary Drugs provides discounted care to the costs of Appalachian Bear Rescue. However prices nonetheless add up. “The $25,000 donation from class sponsor KONG has actually saved the lives of our younger bears,” says Dodd. “And KONG additionally donated a giant field of their toys for our cubs. We’ve really used KONG toys with our cubs for a few years. We use them as a result of they’re powerful and so they stand as much as the bear check. Our cubs love them.”
See Appalachian Bear Rescue in motion: take a look at these videos of the workforce releasing 4 yearlings in early July.
Based in 1948, Land Rover designs and engineers its automobiles in the UK. For over 70 years the model has constructed a fame for offering its clientele with a number of the most luxurious and succesful automobiles on the planet, whether or not driving via the guts of town or traversing the countryside on- and off-road. Right now’s Land Rover lineup consists of the Defender, Discovery and Discovery Sport, Vary Rover, Vary Rover Sport, Vary Rover Velar, and Vary Rover Evoque. Land Rover is absolutely engaged with sustainability initiatives and social issues with steady involvement in environmental and neighborhood packages. For extra info, go to the official Land Rover web sites for the USA, www.landroverusa.com, or for Canada www.landrover.ca. Study extra in regards to the Defender Service Awards and former winners here.
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