DETROIT — From July 31st to Aug. 1st, carwash equipment manufacturer Motor City Wash Works held its 10th Annual Open House and Live Charity Auction.
This year, the event raised enough money to donate $252,000 to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
“At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital we are very grateful for companies like Motor City Wash Work, because they help us fund research, treatment, housing and food for our patients. At St. Jude no child or family ever receives a bill for anything,” says Michael Hull, regional managing director of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The event, which continues to grow, was well-attended by distributors, customers and industry partners, including Professional Carwashing & Detailing magazine.
“After 10 straight years, our Open House event has grown into an industry ‘can’t miss event’ for vendors, distributors and especially operators,” said Richard Belanger, vice president of Motor City Wash Works. “It offers a low-pressure environment, tons of fun and networking, as well as great deals, all encompassed in a huge, ‘feel good’ charity event. We auctioned more than $800,000 worth of great deals on carwash equipment and supplies, raffled off $150,000 in carwash equipment and a $30,000 car, while raising $252,000 for the benefit of St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Doesn’t that sound like a great event?”
The Annual Open House and Live Charity Auction opened on Tuesday the 31st with the Welcome Reception at the Bistro 555 Bar and a Detroit Tigers baseball game, courtesy of Motor City Wash Works.
On the 1st, The Live Charity Auction was once again held at the historic Gem Theatre, featuring the return of auctioneer Letitia Frye.
New this year, the auction included a Golden Ticket Raffle.
Brad Cummings was awarded first prize, which was a $150,000 equipment package. Mike Watson won second prize, which was a two-year Corvette lease. All other ticket holders won a $3,000 voucher, based on the ticket price, for a future Motor City Wash Works equipment purchase in the next year.
This year’s Annual Open House and Live Charity Auction ended with some cocktails at the After Glow Party at Level 2 roof top bar.
“We hope that you enjoyed visiting our facility and getting the chance to meet our team. We truly appreciate all of the companies and individuals that participated to make this the largest Live Charity Auction and raffle that Motor City Wash Works has hosted to date,” stated a Motor City Wash Works press release.
The Motor City Wash Works Open House event began in 2008 as a way to welcome carwash professionals to the company’s factory to get to know them on a more personal level. In 2013, the company added the fundraiser aspect to the open house and has held it ever since.
