Whether someone has named it Baby, Mean Machine, Love Machine or Old Faithful, many people are passionate over their cars.
Where there is passion, there is opportunity to raise money for a good cause. What would one call a new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 if one won it in a car raffle That is what Bill Ahern gets to decide. Ahern won the car in a raffle at the Toledo Children’s Hospital “Fame and Champagne” dinner at the home of Barbara Steele and Alan Kimple. Initially the Toledo Children’s Hospital was doing what is standard practice in a charity car raffle. They were buying the car from the dealership and raising money off of the raffle ticket sales over and above the negotiated price. However the evening of the event, co-chair Rita Mansour made a gentle appeal to Paul and Tom Devers of Vin Devers Autohaus of Sylvania and asked them to consider making an outright donation of the car. They agreed. Nancy Lopez, Paul Devers, Barbara Steele and Rita Mansour at Fame and Champagne. Regional President of ProMedica Health System, Barbara Steele said she was appreciative of the last minute donation. “We are especially grateful for Paul and Tom Devers’ generosity,” said Steele. “The donation of the car from Vin Devers will make a significant impact towards our mission to provide new autism care services to our community.” In addition to the raffle, tickets to the exclusive event, named “Fame and Champagne,” were sold to some of the hospital’s most loyal benefactors. Guests were greeted with champagne and dined on tasty bites from local restaurants. The event featured the “Fame” of golfing legend, Nancy Lopez and former NFL cornerback, Jeremy Lincoln.
Mansour estimates that the raffle raised $115,000 including Vin Devers in-kind donation of the car, and overall the event raised approximately $235,000. Proceeds will be used in the new autism initiative at the Toledo Children’s Hospital.