Valley Automall again donates $30,000 to local charities

The Valley Automall Owners Association brought smiles to the faces of a dozen charitable organizations Dec. 8 when the group recently presented a total of $30,000 in donations to a dozen charitable Southern Nevada organizations.

Among the groups receiving $2,500 donations as part of “12 Days of Christmas” were the YMCA, Injured Police Officer’s Fund, The Shade Tree, Nevada State Veterans Home, Hope Link of Southern Nevada, Veteran’s Village, Grant a Gift Autism Foundation, Family Promise of Southern Nevada, Boys &Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, American Red Cross and SAFE House.

The donations marked the third consecutive year that the auto mall has selected charities for the holidays. Each of the charities was thankful to the Valley Automall for its continued efforts to help others in Southern Nevada.

Family Promise of Las Vegas has been a recipient for the past several years.

“It’s amazing because we are a smaller charity that does great work and we depend on the financial support of our community to help us continue to do this work,” said Terry Lindemann, executive director of Family Promise. “The work that we do with homeless families and their children is enhanced by collaborations from corporate donors and private donors throughout the region.

“We do big work and we appreciate every dollar given.”

Arnold Stalk, founder of Veterans Village Las Vegas, received the donation for the second straight year. Veterans Village consists of two outlets in downtown Las Vegas.

“This contribution enables us to house our veterans for $20 a night through our Veterans Village Emergency Housing Fund. Veterans Village One has 150 veterans a night, while Veterans Village Two 204 a night. Our crisis intervention center assists over 5,000 people a month.”

Valley Automall General Manager Al Shirley said the group was again elated to help so many charities.

“This is the third year that we have donated checks as part of “12 Days of Christmas,’’ Shirley said. “It is representative of all of our dealers in the auto mall, and we anticipate it will be an ongoing presentation. This is the time of year for giving, and we all feel good about it.”

With about 125 acres, the Valley Automall was opened in 1995 by automobile executives Greg Heinrich, Gary Ackerman, Larry Carter and Cliff Findlay. Sporting 20 dealerships and 25 brands, the Valley Automall is the largest of its kind in the nation.

Further information can be found by visiting www.valleyautomall.com.