BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — A 5-year-old girl in Alabama who is battling cancer soon will meet Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other Disney characters in person, thanks to a group of Tire Pros dealers.
Tire Pros of Central Alabama, working in conjunction with Magic Moments, initiated a campaign in June that raised nearly $4,850, enough to send 5-year-old Emma, from Cullen, Ala., and her family to Disney World in the near future.
Birmingham, Ala.-based Magic Moments, a member of the Association of Wish Granting Organizations Inc., grants non-medical moments to children ages 4-18 with chronic life-threatening illnesses in the state.
During the month of June, Tire Pros of Central Alabama began the campaign, called Tires for a Moment, to help raise money for Magic Moments. During the month, the dealership donated $1 dollar to Magic Moments for every tire sold at 16 Central Alabama Tire Pros locations.
"Emma has been battling cancer this year, and we were hoping to give her the chance to forget about her illness and just enjoy being a kid," said Jacob Lindgren, regional marketing manager for Tire Pros. "So our Tire Pros of Central Alabama dealers wanted to make her dream into a reality."
The campaign raised $4,845, $345 more than the goal.
According to Mr. Lindgren, Tire Pros is working with Magic Moments to set up a time to surprise Emma with her trip to Disney World.
The locations involved in the campaign were:
A&R Tire Pros, Quinton; Cahaba Tire Pros, Pelham; Chelsea Tire Pros, Chelsea; Havoline Xpress Lube Tire Pros (nine locations) Birmingham, Market Hicks Tire Pros, Haleyville; McGriff Tire Pros, Cullman; Warren Tire Pros (two locations), Tuscaloosa and Warrior Tire Pros, Warrior.
"Each year our local group of Tire Pros dealers look for something grass roots to support our local charities that may get overlooked by a national campaign," said Scott Roberson, tire program director for Xpress Partners L.L.C., which raised $626 across its nine locations. "It's important for us to be able to see first-hand the rewards of our efforts impacting our communities. Our major focus in getting the message out to our customers was focused through social media, our company website and our website as a group."
Mr. Roberson said some of the dealership's customers knew of the campaign, and when others found out about it after the fact, "they were happy they were able to contribute."
Mr. Lindgren said the group formulated the idea to raise money for children of Alabama "going through a rough time." After some research, they partnered with Magic Moments. "This is our first year doing this," he said, "but the plan is to move forward with this each year."
"I foresee us joining together again with other Tire Pros dealers to assist in some manner," Mr. Roberson said.