PULLMAN, Wash. — Generous citizen Lynn Dowty learned this week that giving to charity has its own rewards.
Dowty, of Moscow, Idaho, donated a car trunk full of nonperishable food items to a one-week, regional food drive run by marketing students from Washington State University on behalf of Chipman & Taylor Chevrolet-Oldsmobile in Pullman. For every three cans of food that donors such as Dowty contributed, they received a raffle ticket for a raffle prize drawing for items donated by local businesses.
Because of the volume of Dowty’s contributions, he was able to enter several raffle tickets and won two of three large prize packs, including a night’s stay at the Holiday Inn Express and a WSU Mother’s Weekend gift pack donated by Holiday’s Hallmark, Ken Vogel Clothing and Neill’s Flowers and Gifts. The drawing was held on April 8 at the Chipman & Taylor.
“Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Dowty and at least 150 other area people, the food drive was a huge success,” said Roxanne Walczak, a senior from Orting and a member of the food drive team.
Nearly 1,500 pounds of food and $110 in cash were collected by the students at four area grocery stores last week. The donated food was given to the Pullman Community Food Bank, which is run by the Community Action Center and Pullman Child Welfare. Amy Robbins, of the Community Action Center, and Suzie Gorsmen, of Pullman Child Welfare, were on hand at the raffle drawing to accept the food, which had been displayed in the Chipman & Taylor showroom in the bed of a Chevy S10 truck and the trunk of an Oldsmobile Alero.
“This donation is so timely and appreciated,” said Gorsmen. “This food will go a long way to help so many people in the community.”
The food drive was part of an internship for marketing students at WSU called the General Motors Marketing Internship (GMMI). The students selected for the internship partner with a local GM dealership to gain hands-on marketing experience. GMMI is administered by EdVenture Partners, a California company that contracts with GM to run the internship on campuses nationwide. This is the fifth spring that WSU students have participated in GMMI.
On April 17, the interns will stage the second part of their marketing campaign: an interactive event for the community on WSU’s Glenn Terrell Mall from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Students and other participants will be treated to food, games and prizes while also learning about Chipman & Taylor’s Chevy vehicles.
