You’ve probably seen the commercials for Subaru’s Share The Love Event on TV around Christmastime. (Does the song “Put a little love in your heart” ring a bell?) It may just seem like a clever marketing ploy to sell more cars, but Subaru dealerships across the country have actually donated more than $140 million to national and hometown charities, including the National Park Foundation, ASPCA and Meals on Wheels, by way of a fixed donation for every Subaru sold during the event.
Saratoga Springs reaped the benefits of this program on June 18, when Saratoga Subaru and the Mackey Auto Group presented a check for $18,446 to Saratoga Hospital at a luncheon at the dealership. The money was raised during the 2018 Share The Love Event, which took place between Thanksgiving and New Years, and will go toward Saratoga Hospital’s new maternity unit.
This is the first in a five-year commitment Saratoga Subaru has made to Saratoga Hospital, says Christopher Mackey, owner of Mackey Auto Group (which owns Saratoga Subaru). The five-year Share The Love fundraising goal is $125,000. “A lot of times these events are held at a fundraising gala, but I decided I wanted to have a luncheon at the dealership, because it was really to honor the employees as well,” Mackey says of the check presentation. “Without them, the check wouldn’t have been anywhere near that amount. I wanted Saratoga Hospital to understand that this wasn’t just from myself: it was from everybody on the team here.”
