WESTMINSTER, Calif. — Cong (John) Ton, owner of Teo Tire Club in Westminster, recently turned his good fortune into charity for others less fortunate.
Mr. Ton donated his winnings from Tire's Warehouse Inc.'s Tire One Dealer Event at the recent Specialty Equipment Market Association Show to One America Appeal for Hurricane Relief.
Mr. Ton won $3,000 at Tire's Warehouse's blackjack-style tournament in early November and announced right away he was going to donate it. He and his wife Yen Nguyen already had donated $2,000 to the One America Appeal after Hurricane Irma had forced them to cancel plans for a vacation to Miami.
The One America Appeal is a joint appeal launched by all five living former U.S. presidents to encourage citizens to support recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey. Originally intended to help those on the Texas Gulf Coast, the relief effort later was expanded to include areas affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria (Florida, Puerto Rico and other islands in the Caribbean).
Mr. Ton said his original donation was the money budgeted for the vacation that wasn't spent.
"Because of the hurricane, my wife and I lost a vacate," he said. "But on the flip side, because of the hurricane, the locals are going to lose their homes and properties. Helping those victims recover is the least I can do."
In addition, he asked employees and customers to donate as well, and collected even more, according to TWI.
All of this occurred two months prior to the Tire One Dealer Event. During this time, Mr. Ton was left feeling that he wanted to do more, TWI said.
"When we won the $3,000 prize, it was like a calling," he said. "With the winnings, we have the opportunity now to do just that."
Mr. Ton opened his business 2009. It now is a NAPA Auto Care-affiliated facility in addition to being a Tire One dealership under TWI's tutelage.