Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Inc. (Bridgestone), announced it raised nearly $4 million for Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 2019 to help more than 600,000 Club kids and teens get access to high-impact, out-of-school programming through the Bridgestone Driving Great Futures initiative.
“At Bridgestone Americas, we’re proud of the partnership we’ve built with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and recognize the life-changing impact these Clubs have in the communities where both Boys & Girls Clubs and our stores exist,” said Joe Venezia, President, BSRO. “We’re also grateful to our customers and employees who are the reason we were able to raise these funds and ultimately help more than 600,000 Club youth in 2019.”
The 2019 program awarded 110 transportation grants to Boys & Girls Clubs across the U.S. Thirty of the grants were awarded to purchase new passenger vans equipped with Bridgestone Ecopia fuel-efficient tires. An additional 80 grants were used by Clubs for maintenance and repairs of existing vehicles, fuel costs, and to hire bus drivers. Local BSRO stores also supported the program by donating more than 2,500 hours of company time to service existing Boys & Girls Club vehicles, unveil new vans, and volunteer at Clubs in the local community.
“Without question, Bridgestone is making an incredible impact on our Clubs,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “Thanks to Driving Great Futures, we’ve seen an increase in new members and daily attendance which tells us this program is making the difference we needed. Getting to and from our Clubs is one of the biggest obstacles families face, and Bridgestone is helping us overcome this by providing reliable transportation.”
Since 2015, BRSO has raised $10.5 million for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The Driving Great Futures program is part of Bridgestone’s Our Way to Serve corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment to improve the way people move, live, work, and play.
Media Contact: Leslie Boehms, (615) 937-3468
