CAR WASH FUNDRAISER.
Put on by Mercedes-Benz of Springfield.
By Missy Thibault
If I were to hear about a car wash fundraiser, I would typically think of a group of kids flagging people into a parking lot with buckets of soapy water. Having a good time, raising some money for a sports team, school or group. So when Michelle and Peter asked if they could hold a car wash for us…we didn’t know what to expect! And come to find out, neither did they.
Peter was trying to think of a way to help, he came up with the idea to put their state of the art, super expensive, car wash to good use! Then Michelle used her superpower and reached out to the community for volunteers and vendors to donate their time and services and the result was an event that blew us all away. It was incredible.
For those of you who missed the event, let me just give you an idea of what it was like. Cars would pull in and be greeted by volunteers at a tent surrounded in CHRIS TEEBO FILMS black and yellow colored balloons. They were directed to park their car and leave their keys. The car was then driven through the car wash, vacuumed and then towel dried by hand!
While the cars were getting their VIP treatment, people could grab a bite to eat, visit the vendors tents, enjoy the music and the absolutely perfect weather, and on Sunday even check out the car show.
There were so many highlights of the weekend. We got to talk to so many people. Familiar faces and new ones. Family, friends and colleagues as well as complete strangers. People shared their stories of what connected them to our cause and why they came out to support us and it was truly inspiring. The people, the food, the music, the weather… couldn’t have asked for better. Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos opened the event with a ribbon cutting and Congressman Richie Neal even stopped by to show his support. That made for a pretty memorable moment, Michelle was standing at the entrance to the dealership flagging cars down when she saw the Congressman pull in. At that point the CJ’s Towing ice cream truck was just heading out, so she hopped on the truck and had them turn around and drive her into the parking lot to find him. Chris had just shot an interview with him the week prior, he said “I was just with you, I had no idea!”.
They shared with us that anyone they reached out to, without hesitation, said yes. Yes to helping, donating or simply spreading the word… no questions, just yes. Now, they are an incredible couple who have been immersed in this community and it’s events since they moved here. So they have great relationships, and that helps! But at the same time they made it very clear to us that these people were saying yes so quickly once they heard Chris’s name. I believe that. My husband is very humble so we had to really make a point of drilling this into him. The people Michelle and Peter reached out to are people who are likely asked to do plenty of favors and probably can’t say yes to everything. He had a lot to do with the success of the event. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who has something negative to say about him. He deserves every ounce of this support and as his wife I am beyond grateful to each and every person who has contributed to making him feel so supported and loved.
A short video created by Nick Laroche recapping the event.
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