Honda’s ubiquitous Random Acts of Helpfulness campaign may be marketing at heart, but that doesn’t mean real people and institutions aren’t benefiting. Just ask Dena Sellers, principal of San Jose Elementary School in Mission Hills. The Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school received pens, pencils, paper, folders and rulers to supply five classrooms in September. “It was a lot of stuff, and everyone here was excited to have the materials,” she said. “They just sent us a note and said they decided to sponsor us. It was really nice.” The school received the donation’s through SoCal Honda Dealers first-ever Back to School Supply Drive, a charitable campaign that provides school supplies to local educational institutions in need. Galpin Honda was among the biggest donors of the 51 dealers in the association, collecting 14,000 supplies for schools across Southern California. Other Valley benefactors were Robertson Honda in North Hollywood (East Valley Senior High School), Kolbe Honda in Reseda (Blythe Street Elementary), Miller Honda in Van Nuys (Sylvan Park Elementary), Keyes Woodland Hills Honda (Woodland Hills Academy), First Honda of Simi Valley (Berylwood Elementary) and Honda of Thousand Oaks (Conejo Elementary School). Each dealer collected at least one bin full of supplies, while the delivery to Conejo Elementary School filled the entire back of a minivan. “Mission Hills definitely had a lot of people donating, which was great,” said SoCal Honda Dealers spokeswoman Lauren Kay. “All of the dealers did a great job collecting supplies.” Honda’s Random Acts of Helpfulness campaign is now eight years old but has gained a lot of recognition in recent months with its aggressive radio and TV promotions. “The campaign was started with the idea that most people don’t think of a car dealer as helpful,” Kay said. The campaign also has dispatched a free ice cream truck for kids and a blue tanker truck to offer random Honda drivers with free gas. And firefighters across the region have been surprised with free lunches, including stations in Mission Hills, Reseda, Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. Supporting the Arts The Lancaster Performing Arts Center Foundation received $10,000 from the U.S. Bank Foundation. The money will go toward funding the foundation’s Arts for Youth program, which provides instruction for K-12 students in the Antelope Valley region. “The Arts for Youth program plays a vital role in the lives of our children and teens by making the arts available in several ways,” said David Friedman, U.S. Bank district manager and LPAC Foundation board member, in a statement. “The unique opportunities Arts for Youth delivers can be potentially life-changing.” This is the second grant U.S. Bank has donated to the institution, which is supported by the city of Lancaster and other donors. “For more than 20 years, the LPAC Foundation has provided funding for Arts for Youth, exposing Antelope Valley students to the performing arts and live theater, said Steven Derryberry, LPAC Foundation president, in a statement. “This contribution will ensure even more students have the opportunity to experience these inspirational and educational performances.” Making Music Trumpet & Horn, an online jeweler based in Sherman Oaks specializing in vintage engagement rings, has committed to donate at least $10,000 to Exceptional Minds, a vocational school for young adults with autism. The three-year-old non-profit educates autistic students for careers in movie post-production and other digital arts. So far, students have received paid work experience in the field on movies including “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “American Hustle” and “Lawless.” The online jeweler is giving a percentage of every sale to the program, which is close to the heart of Trumpet & Horn owner Jerry Heidenreich, who has a family friend enrolled at Exceptional Minds. “It’s a huge commitment for an organization our size, but we’ve made this exceptional contribution because we see how autism affects our customers and our community as a whole,” he said. “We want to make that big difference so many families need today.” Trumpet & Horn joins a list of local organizations that have committed to helping students and parents pay for tuition. The cost of the program is more than $30,000 annually but students usually pay about half of that, with the remainder made up by private donations from companies including Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP, Adobe Systems, AutoDesk Inc. and the Ahmanson Foundation. Staff Reporter Stephanie Forshee can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].
