As part of its Drive Pink initiative, AutoNation has donated $720,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to support research aimed at disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The funds were collected at checkout from customers at some 325 AutoNation stores and collision centers nationwide. AutoNation is the largest automotive retailer in the United States.
Since its 2015 launch, Drive Pink has raised more than $22 million in support of about 250 scientists on six continents. The funds help with studies into ways of preventing breast cancer, as well as with the search for the least invasive and most effective treatment options.
The stores offer awareness-raising pink license plates and frames, which customers are asked to photograph and post on social media using the hashtag #DrivePink.
“We’re overwhelmed by the response of our customers to DRV PNK,” Marc Cannon, AutoNation’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a press release. “By adding small donations to their repair invoices at the service drives, customers have helped AutoNation to collect almost three-quarters of a million dollars. Customers trust us with their vehicle needs and they also believe in our commitment to helping drive out cancer.”
The AutoNation donation was recently presented at the BCRF Palm Beach Hot Pink Luncheon & Symposium, which highlights the latest advances in breast cancer research discoveries. A BCRF advisory board member, Alice Jackson — wife of Mike Jackson, AutoNation’s executive chairman — is a breast cancer survivor.
“AutoNation’s unwavering commitment to our mission will undoubtedly accelerate the course of research, improving outcomes and saving lives,” said Myra Biblowit, the foundation’s president and CEO. “Their incredible power to galvanize communities and drive impact makes a tangible difference. Together, I know, we will be the end of breast cancer.”
AutoNation has sold more than 12 million vehicles, the first automotive retailer to do so. Go here to find a store location.
The world’s largest private funder of breast cancer research, the 27-year-old Breast Cancer Research Foundation works to end breast cancer, the second most prevalent form of malignancy among U.S. women. About 12 percent of women in the United States will at some point develop the disease. About 1 in every 1,000 men are also at risk.