Christmas has come early this year at CJ’s Tire and Automotive Services. The Pennsylvania-based dealer is celebrating Christmas in July by raising funds for local charity Operation Nine Reindeer. 
“Helping to make next Christmas a little brighter and more meaningful to some deserving families in our local communities is what Operation Nine Reindeer is all about,” said Bill Bainbridge, CJ’s director of marketing for. “We’re proud to be supporting this wonderful cause.”
All month, the dealer has raised money by asking customers at its 12 locations if sales can be rounded up to the nearest dollar amount, donating that “spare change” to Operation Nine Reindeer.
“We have great customers and great employees at CJ’s. They have always responded whenever we’ve asked them to support a good cause,” Bainbridge added.
In addition to raising funds via “spare change,” CJ’s participated in two off-site “Christmas” events as the key part of its fundraising.
On July 24, the dealer partnered with Chick-fil-A to host Christmas dinner, complete with a visit by Santa. Chick-fil-A donated 15% of its sales from the event to Operation Nine Reindeer and CJ’s hosted raffles at the restaurant.
On “Christmas,” July 25, CJ’s headed to the ballpark for the AA baseball team Reading Fightin Phils game. The team wore special Santa Jerseys, sponsored in part by CJ’s. In addition, the dealer set up in the pavilion, collecting donations and hosting raffles.
As part of its fundraising efforts, CJ’s gave away two sets of tires donated by Hankook and Falken Tires, according to Bainbridge.
Operation Nine Reindeer was founded by “Philly Santa,” a professional Santa portrayer, in 2012. The charity tries to provide the very best Christmas to select local families in need of cheer and help during the holidays
The dealership set a goal to raise $5,000 through event raffles and small change donations. Bainbridge said that by the conclusion of the month, the stores will have surpassed that goal.
