Season of Sharing Is Upon Us

It is the most wonderful time of the year to be grateful for what we have and to share it with our community. Les Schwab Tire Centers are hosting food, toy and bike drives and more to help those in their communities in need.

Kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving fundraiser, the Sacramento-area Les Schwab stores got behind this year’s 10th annual Yuba-Sutter-Colusa United Way Turkey Drive. The stores served as collection sites for the $20 donations that bought turkeys, hams and holiday dinner fixings for families in the area. These donations were then shared with nearly 20 local nonprofit organizations who then distributed meals to local families.

Toy drives have been a fixture in Les Schwab’s community giving: In California’s Central Valley, 20 stores are participating in the third annual Fox 26 Les Schwab Tires Toy Drive. Store managers have set up appealing displays to encourage patrons to bring in new, unwrapped toys for children. Les Schwab Tire Centers are proud to work with local nonprofit Poverello House. Other nonprofits throughout the Central Valley can sign up at the Poverello House website to be among those organizations that benefit from these donations.

Meanwhile, nearby Les Schwab stores are tuning up their fleet of trucks for the 10-mile Parade of Toys that will deliver donations to the Sierra Vista Mall, in Clovis, Calif., on Dec. 15. In 2015, Les Schwab delivered 30 truckloads, which were distributed to participating charities.

Les Schwab stores in Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, Calif., have their bike pedals to the metal participating in the CHiPS for Kids annual drive to raise funds and donate bicycles. Volunteers from the California Highway Patrol - Valley Division and other local organizations have already assembled the bikes and are anxiously awaiting the donation drop-off at the Cal Expo on Dec. 9.

In 2015, approximately 1,000 bikes were donated to area children. Keep an eye out for Les Schwab trucks and the California Highway Patrol, which will again transport the bikes and escort the caravan.

In Utah, where cold winters are a sure thing, having a warm coat is essential. To help those in need to stay warm, the North and South Logan Les Schwab stores have teamed up for the third year with the United Way of Cache Valley for the Warm Coat Drive, which benefits multiple Cache Valley charities. Customers can donate gently used coats, gloves and hats through Dec. 31 at both stores and the Cache County Sheriff’s Office.

The Logan Les Schwab stores have also partnered up with the Cache County’s Sub for Santa annual toy drive. Leslie Canada, director and participant for 30 years, is thrilled to have Les Schwab’s help. In honor of the inaugural year, the Logan stores will give coupons for free tire rotations and free pre-trip safety checks to everyone who donates a toy.

Thank you to everyone who has come by one of our stores to keep this wonderful time of the year alive in many hearts. Happy holidays to all!

Band Plays for Les Schwab’s Tireless Teacher

For students at Antelope High School, in Antelope, Calif., every pep rally and sporting event serves as a reminder of their band director Ritchey Hodge. Hodge wrote the school’s official fight song, which the band performs at school events. Hodge’s many talents, including the example he sets for student leaders as a performer and songwriter, have won him 2016’s Les Schwab Tireless Teacher Award.

The recognition is thanks to his band students, who wrote one-page essays about the teacher they believe best represents positive culture on campus. The Tireless Teacher Award recognizes outstanding teachers who have a positive effect on students. Students nominate a teacher they believe most deserves the award.

We at Les Schwab Tire Centers are proud to celebrate Hodge and teachers like him, who go above and beyond the call of duty with hopes of inspiring our future leaders. Thank you, Hodge, for being a superior role model for the Antelope High student body.

Dream Comes True for Lancers’ Superfan

East Union High School Senior Vinny Torrice has never missed a football game.

“He’s been the biggest fan of East Union since he was a freshman. Gone to every single game,” Vic Torrice said of his son.

Win or lose, rain or shine, home or away, Vinny has been supporting the Lancers football team and dreaming of the moment that he might join them on the gridiron.

Vinny, who has Down syndrome, got his opportunity during the playoff game against Del Campo High School in 2016. Vinny ran a 27-yard touchdown through a sea of blockers to finish the game.

Players from both teams met Vinny in the end zone to celebrate, and the Lancers’ student section could be heard chanting, “Vinny!” throughout the stadium.

“I had no clue. I’m still shaking,” Vic Torrice told The Record. “I never dreamt of this for my son.”

“That kid means a lot to me,” Lancers’ wide receiver Jake Harries told The Record. “He’s really like my brother. I absolutely love him to death. I’ll never let anything happen to him.”

We at Les Schwab Tire Center are proud of Vinny, the East Union High School body, and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF State). We applaud the sportsmanship shown by both teams, and we’ll continue to support those athletes, coaches, students and supporters who stand for something greater than winning and losing.