Mount Hope resident earns top donation for her cause as most influential ambassador in dealership’s Behind the Wheel campaign.
GOSHEN, N.Y. (September 26, 2018) — Healey Lincoln put 15 Hudson Valley residents behind the wheels of Lincolns this summer for a chance to win a $5,000 donation to the charity of their choice. The campaign, which launched in June, wrapped up with the reveal of the big winner Tuesday evening in the Goshen dealership’s showroom.
After three months of observing its ambassadors’ social media posts during their extended Lincoln test drives, Healey Lincoln selected Ashli Helm, a fitness instructor from Mount Hope, as the most influential driver and participant who best personified the Lincoln brand. Helm was handed a $5,000 check made out to the Allyson Whitney Foundation, an organization with the vision of shining a spotlight on young adults with rare cancers, and providing ‘Life Interrupted Grants™’ to ease their financial burdens so they can concentrate on healing.
“Thank you so much to Healey Lincoln for being so generous and creating this amazing program,” said Helm. “I am honored to have won!”
“This $5,000 will make a direct impact on so many fighting cancer right now,” said Allyson Whitney Foundation CEO Barbara Strong. “We are humbled and extremely grateful to be the recipient of this very generous donation.”
In an unexpected generous gesture, Healey Lincoln then presented $500 checks to each of the other 14 Lincoln ambassadors to benefit their chosen causes.
“Once we saw how passionate our ambassadors were and how much these causes benefit our communities, we chose to donate to each and every one.” said John Koerner, executive general manager of Healey Lincoln.
The 15 participants and their benefiting causes include:
- • Jesse Almodovar, National Alliance for Mental Illness
- • Martha Barrera, Food For Kids
- • Dickie Baxter, Hudson Valley Honor Flight
- • Ryan Coakley, Food Bank of the Hudson Valley
- • Beth Douthit, Burke Catholic High School
- • Ashli Helm, Allyson Whitney Foundation
- • Dan Higbie, Kiwanis of Middletown
- • Eric Maldonado, Inspire Foundation
- • Melissa McCoy, Abilities First
- • Laura Moritz, Pets Alive
- • Tracilyn Smith, Comfort Cases
- • Nikki Regina, Hudson Valley SPCA
- • Roy Thompson, Center for Discovery
- • Sharon Warantz, Canine Companions for Independence
- • Eric Wertz, Ty Louis Campbell Foundation
“Every dollar makes a difference for us at Burke Catholic,” said John Douthit, principal of operations at Burke Catholic High School. “This $500 donation will directly benefit our student programs. We are currently working toward renovation of our science labs.”
The ambassadors spent a month driving in the luxury Lincoln vehicle that best fit their needs and desires. The 15 individuals were chosen from a pool of online applicants and agreed to drive — no strings attached — with the only requirement being to post their honest experiences on their personal social media platforms, for the chance to win the $5,000 donation.
The campaign as a whole generated the following social media statistics:
Posts = 773
Likes = 28,200
Comments = 2,015
Shares = 1,425
Video Views = 39,044
Helm, alone, generated these impressive statistics:
Posts = 27
Likes = 3,973
Comments = 85
Shares = 21
Video Views = 955
Participants were not paid for their participation. Healey Lincoln provided the vehicles at no cost, including insurance. Participants only needed to cover gas costs.
About Healey Brothers
Healey Brothers, the Hudson Valley’s largest automotive dealer, is a company of eight vehicle dealerships in the Hudson Valley owned by brothers Paul and Dwight Healey. Healey Brothers is the Hudson Valley’s premier authorized dealer for these brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Kia, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. To learn more, visit: www.healeybrothers.com/
