Easterns Automotive Supports Food for Others Food Bank
The holiday season is officially upon us! For some, this is an exciting time of the year to celebrate with family and friends over food.? Many others, unfortunately, do not have the same luxury.? There are more than 75,000 people living in poverty in Fairfax County, Virginia.? A statistic that seems almost unreliable due to the fact that this is one of the Nation?s wealthiest regions.? Food for Others is a local nonprofit food bank that has been helping to serve those less fortunate since 1995.? Many families find it quite hard to make ends meet in general but especially during the holiday season.? Each week, they serve more than 1,800 local families with the help of their food drives and wonderful staff/volunteers.? The ultimate goal of Food for Others is to eliminate food insecurity.
Learn More About Food for Others
WUSA 9 and Easterns Automotive Group got word of their incredible work.? They chose to highlight Food for Others in their Road to a Better Community segment.? A box truck courtesy of Easterns surprised their entire team by delivering 1,009 pounds of food to help pack their warehouse.? As a company, Easterns is no stranger to providing food to the community.? Earlier this year, Easterns supported furloughed federal workers in the government shutdown by donating 10,000 each week to local food banks until the end of the shutdown.? 2019 has certainly been tough but it?s great to know that many families will have great meals for Thanksgiving.? Please visit www.foodforothers.org to learn more and find ways in which you too could donate or volunteer to such a great cause.? Let?s help one another!
Eastern Motors Partners with WPGC 95.5 to Present Educator Award
A few weeks ago, WPGC 95.5 in Washington D.C. announced the opportunity to nominate an outstanding educator for their contest in partnership with Easterns Automotive Group (Eastern Motors). Many candidates were nominated but there was one in particular that stood out. Andrea Hoes, a second-grade teacher at Staton Elementary School in SE, D.C. was selected as the winner. Ms. Hoes was nominated by a number of family and friends for her tremendous hard work as a teacher. Joe Clair of the Joe Clair Morning Show on WPGC 95.5 made the announcement at For Sisters Only (FSO 2019) by bringing her on stage and presenting her with the $1,500 check courtesy of Easterns. $1,000 of the money is for personal use and $500 is for classroom spending. Please see below to read some of the nominations that we submitted on Ms. Hoes? behalf.
Submissions:
“Andrea Hoes has worked tirelessly for over a decade to change lives for elementary students in one of the city’s most disadvantaged and underserved areas. Her creative approach to teaching (using pop culture references and innovative games to teach simple concepts) is second to none. She built an entire mock Chick-Fil-A drive thru in the classroom to teach students how to count currency and make purchases. Years after her students leave the classroom they keep in contact with Ms. Hoes to update her on their life’s progression. Her students are her life and she would be incredibly honored to be surprised with this award.”
“Every student that crosses paths with Ms. Hoes turns out to be different than when she first met them. Most of her students come in broken, lost, or afraid. Her goal for them is to help evolve them and to show them you can be and do anything in life,” another said. “She gives her students the love, attention and she nurtures them as if they were her own. Her way of teaching is out of this world. She engages and makes students want to learn and come to school EVERYDAY! Every year she spends her money on classroom decorations and she gives them a party for EVERY holiday. She?s been an educator for more than 10 years; her teaching performance is through the roof. She?s not your typical elementary teacher; she?s so much more and is very deserving of this award!”
“My cousin Andrea Hoes deserves to be an honored educator because she has dedicated her life to making our future brighter.?Even when she isn?t at the school she continues to educate as a cheerleading coach for Dynamic Cheer. She is the BOMB!”
“I nominate Andrea Hoes for a chance to win this award. She is very kind, considerate, and has a loving connection with her students. She is outstanding in and out of the classroom. She is always creating different, hands on methods for her students to learn. I constantly see her pouring into her students effortlessly. Whether it be a nice compliment, a hug, a gift, or a small party with good food and treats. She definitely knows the way to those kids hearts. She is a great teacher, mentor, friend, and cheerleading coach. I can see her passion for teaching through her creativity. She makes learning a wonderful and entertaining experience.”
“Andrea Hoes is a great teacher at Stanton Elementary in SE she gives her students her ALL…. she is a very amazing person let alone and educator! But don?t just take my word for it ? ask her current and previous students!!!”
“Ms. Andrea Hoes, is the most unsung hero?I know when it comes to being an extraordinary educator. As a parent I thank?her and appreciate all that she does?for her class, she sacrifices more than her time in and out of her classroom.”
Easterns and Get Up DC Donate to Leveling the Playing Field Program
Who doesn?t want to help the kids!? Our friend, Reese Waters at WUSA 9 found a wonderful nonprofit organization based in the Washington D.C. area to help out.? Waters is the head of the Get Up Give Back segment on WUSA 9?s Get Up DC morning program.? The organization that he selected is called Leveling the Playing Field (LPF).? They specialize in providing underprivileged children with the opportunity to pursue youth sports.? Founder of LPF, Mike Levitt, came up with the idea during his time of working as an equipment manager with Syracuse University?s football team and with the Washington Redskins/Montgomery County Recreation during the summers.? He saw so much sports equipment go to waste and he knew that it would have much better use.? It is important to him that the youth of less fortunate communities receive the equipment to further athletic participation.? Finances play a huge part in childhood sports.? Many children are unable to play due to expensive equipment and lack of sources.
Learn More or Donate to LPF
The monetary donations that LPF receives go towards lowering registration fees which allows more children to participate.? LPF has donated sports equipment to over 300 schools and programs in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area and the list keeps growing.? Waters called on his good friends at Easterns Automotive Group to help them out.? Easterns donated $1,000 to LPF which will certainly go a long way.? For every $25 that they receive, LPF is able to gift one child the sports equipment that they need to participate in a sport.? If you would like to learn more about LPF, donate, or volunteer ? please visit www.levelingtheplayingfield.org
Happy Halloween everyone! This holiday truly gets more and more exciting every year with the creative costumes and fun events around the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area.? However, not every parent has the necessary funds to ensure that their child has a wonderful Halloween.? Costumes can be quite costly depending on the character or theme but Del Ray Business Association in Alexandria, VA decided to step up and help less fortunate kids.? For the past twenty three years, they have been paying it forward to their community by collecting costumes so that all children are able to have the ultimate Halloween experience.? The Del Ray Business Association coordinates with nonprofits and enlists volunteers to full all of this off.? They invite kids in need of a costume to the Mount Vernon Rec Center where they are able to choose from racks of costumes until they find the one that they like.? Every child deserves to have an incredible Halloween despite their families? financial status.? The Del Ray community truly comes together as one and even has a large Halloween parade every year so they kids are able to interact with each other and show off their costumes in a safe space.
Fox 5 DC and Easterns Automotive Group got word of the fabulous work that the Del Ray Business Association is doing in addition to giving back to the kids.? They decided to Pay It Forward to them on their Fox 5 DC segment.? The ladies that run Del Ray Business Association were invited to the Good Day DC studio where they were surprised by Joel Bassam of Easterns.? Joel gifted them with the remaining costumes on their wish list so the kids will have a variety to choose from.? Just in time for trick or treating! Be safe everyone and enjoy Halloween 2019!
It?s important to recognize both incredible people and organizations that work very hard to help others in the community.? This idea is the reason that WUSA 9 and Easterns Automotive Group came together to form their Road to a Better Community series.? They search the entire DC, Maryland, and Virginia community to find great causes to shine a spotlight on and contribute to.? Recently, they got word of a wonderful therapeutic horseback riding inclusion program that also provides equine therapy.? Lift Me Up is located in Great Falls, Virginia and is committed to teaching riding skills to both children and adults with various disabilities.? They are able to help people improve their balance, core strength, and flexibility.? Riders at Lift Me Up range from ages 3 to 60 years old.? Kim Buseman suffers from multiple sclerosis but has been coming to Lift Me Up for 23 years.? ?If I can?t see, feel, tough, or smell a horse I?m not a happy person,? she said.? The impact that Lift Me Up has on the community on its riders speaks volumes.? Thanks to their lovely volunteers and instructors, they have been able to continue growing and teaching more than 100 riders each week.
WUSA 9 and their camera crew recently joined Joel Bassam of Easterns Automotive Group at Lift Me Up.? Bassam presented them with a check for $2,500 to support their 100 for 100 program which will go a very long way.? If you would like to learn more about Life Me Up and how you can either support or volunteer, please visit: www.liftmeup.org
To learn more about Easterns Automotive Group?s partnership with WUSA 9 and how they come together to empower the DMV community, please visit www.wusa9.com/BetterCommunity
It speaks volumes when a person goes above and beyond to help others in need.? Jonathan Bell is a former patient of Children?s National Hospital in Washington D.C.? When Bell was a child, he suffered from kidney failure but unfortunately this was in the 1940s before many medical advances.? There was so such thing as dialysis at that time so he spent much of his childhood in and out of the hospital.? His personal health experience inspired him to become a volunteer at Children?s National Hospital.? Bell has been volunteering for over 20 years and is truly an inspiration for being a selfless individual that chooses to put others first.? It was and still is important to him to make a difference in the lives of sick children and encourage them to persevere and appreciate the top-tier medical care they have been given.? Thanks to Bell, the children in the hospital are able to talk and work with someone that has been in their shoes and directly affected by health issues firsthand.
Fox 5 DC and Easterns Automotive Group of DC, Maryland, and Virginia teamed up to surprise Bell during their Pay It Forward segment.? Maureen Umeh, host of Good Day DC, surprised Bell with Fox 5 DC cameras during his volunteer hours at Children?s National Hospital.? Joel Bassam of Easterns was also in attendance to present Bell with a $1,000 gift card to help him buy books and supplies to continue his volunteer work.? To top it off, Bell also received tickets to take his grandchildren to the Washington Nationals baseball game.? He has been a Nationals fan for years so being able to witness the excitement on his face was truly priceless.? We must congratulate the Washington Nationals as they are now playing in the World Series against the Houston Astros.? If you would like to learn how to be a Patient Care Volunteer at Children?s National Hospital, please visit www.childrensnational.org
If you know someone in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area that goes above and beyond the call and is worthy of being recognized, Click here to nominate them.
Watch the video to see the way everything unfolded.
October is upon us which means that it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.? Breast cancer affects more woman than any other cancer.? Before the end of 2019, over 300,000 women in the United States will have been diagnosed with breast cancer along with 2,670 men.? Easterns Automotive Group and WUSA 9 decided to come together for their Road to a Better Community segment in a major way.? They wanted to highlight and give back to those directly affected by breast cancer.? They chose StyleEsteem Wardrobe, a business that creates head wraps for women fighting cancer.? Sonya Keshwani created StyleEsteem after suffering from breast cancer herself.? Going to chemotherapy resulted in her losing her hair which inspired her to get creative with her look.? She began to shop at the fabric store and sew her own head wraps as an alternative to wearing a hat.? It was important to her that she was still fashionable even while going through such a dark time in her life.? Keshwani grew her new found passion into a business when she realized that many others are faced with the same journey.? StyleEsteem Wardrobe has a head wrap collection for every season.
One woman who in particular that StyleEsteem Wardrobe was able to help is Maggie Kudirka aka Bald Ballerina.? As a dancer, her life was affected drastically by breast cancer but she refused to give up.? She continues to go through chemotherapy and dance through the pain.? Her head wrap keeps her stylish and confident when she goes out into the world.? Keshwani has done so much to support the community through her business that Easterns Automotive Group was inspired to make a donation.? Joel Bassam of Easterns presented StyleEsteem Wardrobe with a check for $2,500 to continue their incredible efforts.? Not only will this money be used to create new head wrap collections but it will also be used for their one for one donations.? If you would like to learn more about StyleEsteem, order a head wrap, or make a donation ? please visit www.styleesteemshop.com
Please also educate yourself and those around you on the topic of Breast Cancer. ?When breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 100%. www.nationalbreastcancer.org
To learn more about Easterns Automotive Group?s partnership with WUSA 9 and how they come together to empower the DMV community, please visit www.wusa9.com/BetterCommunity
An incredible non-profit organization by the name of Critical Exposure is teaching Washington D.C. students the power of photography. They have set out to create a new generation of civic leaders that have the necessary tools to prosper. Through their various campaigns, students are able to start young and learn about the various issues that affect their community. The youth are our future so it?s imperative that they find their voice and know how to fight for educational equality and social justice. Change takes effort and the art of photography truly brings people together. The images taken by the students of Critical Exposure are shown in galleries, libraries, and directly to many public officials.
Reese Waters of WUSA 9 became aware of this incredible cause and called Easterns Automotive to be a part of this segment.? Critical Exposure plays such an instrumental role in fighting for change in the DC community that they wanted to make a donation.? Easterns Automotive Group donated $1,000 to the non-profit for them to continue blessing the youth. If you would like to learn more about Critical Exposure and how you can donate to their mission, please visit http://www.criticalexposure.org?
If you know someone in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area that is worthy of being helped or recognized, please contact at @ReeseWaters on social media.? #GetUpDC #GetUpGiveBack
Growing up as a millennial has its fair share of obstacles.? Bullying used to just be something that children had to encounter while at school.? However, due to the rise of technology, it often extends on to the world of social media.? A Montgomery County teen learned his true power when he decided to take his speech disorder into his own hands by choosing to embrace it and inspire others along the way.? Jared Glickfield was born with a stutter but he aimed to not let it get the best of him.? Dr. Tommie Robinson Jr. works with Jared on techniques to help him manage his stuttering and encouraged him to start his very own podcast.? Jared created Stuttering Since ?02 to be an inspiration to other students facing the same battle as him.? The platform gives him the privilege to share his story, give kids a positive experience, and provide a safe space on the internet that encourages others to be themselves.
Easterns Joins Fox 5 DC to Pay It Forward to Jared?
Easterns Automotive Group and Fox 5 DC joined forces to Pay It Forward to Jared because they were so touched by his incredible story.? Allison Seymour of Good Day DC invited Jared and his parents down to the studio to chat about raise awareness about his podcast.? He was surprised by Joel Bassam who presented him with some promo items to market his podcast along with a $500 gift card to Sweetwater Sound to purchase new audio equipment to record the podcast.? ?The smile on Jared?s face was priceless.? He is a great example to teens and even adults to show that when you own your truth, no one can use it against you.? If you would like to listen to his incredible podcast, please click here.
It?s fair to say that everyone loves a free surprise giveaway. Easterns Automotive Group continues to partner with WUSA 9 on fun initiatives that make an impact on people in the community. Camera crews followed Reese Waters of Get Up DC down to Dupont Circle in the District where he gave away free Krispy Kreme donuts and over $1,000 dollars to strangers as they strolled the streets. The lucky winners were filled with pure joy and excitement. It?s the little things like this that really impact a person?s day. This segment is a must watch!