Tire Outlet Donates $20K to Adaptive Toy Project - Tire Review Magazine

Tire Outlet Donates $20K to Adaptive Toy Project

In its first year raising funds for the project, Tire Outlet donated $2 from each Milestar-brand tire and $4 from each Yokohama tire sold.

Tire Outlet, a 10-location independent tire dealership in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, has donated $20,000 to the University of North Florida (UNF)’s Adaptive Toy Project, which designs toys for children with disabilities.

In its first year raising funds for the project, Tire Outlet donated $2 from each Milestar-brand tire sold and $4 from each Yokohama tire sold. On top of that, the dealership rounds each transaction to the nearest dollar to add to its donation.

“First of all, it’s great for the children that are involved in this project,” said Rob Duckworth, Tire Outlet COO. “It’s also automotive related. It’s just such a good cause, we wanted to bring awareness to it.”

UNF’s Adaptive Toy Project combines the talents of its students from its engineering and physical therapy departments to build these adapted toys for kids with disabilities. Together, students reconstruct​ ride-on battery toy cars for a specific child in the Jacksonville community that meet the physical and cognitive needs of each individual child.

“They create little electric vehicles. Some of them are made if, say, a child can’t walk, their car might help with their core strength so that they can sit up straight. They’re really geared toward each individual,” Duckworth says.

This past year, the UNF project was able to afford to create six vehicles last year thanks to Tire Outlet’s donation.

“This upcoming year, we’re looking to hopefully double that,” Duckworth said, “because on average, one toy car could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000 depending on the child’s disability.”

With a rigorous growth plan set for 2020, Tire Outlet is set to reach its goal. Duckworth said the dealership is planning to open two superstore locations: one slated to open in April in east Jacksonville and another outside of Jacksonville near Amelia Island. Duckworth said the dealership has also invested in a mobile tire service truck, which is slated to launch in Q2 this year.

“Everybody is going toward the service aspect and the convenience factor is what we’re looking to serve with the mobile van,” Duckworth said. “For customers, being able to go out to the parking lot at their job and have their tires be changed on the spot, that’s our vision.”

With growth on the horizon, Duckworth said he’s looking forward to the dealership not only serving customers better but also increasing its in-store donation matching and charitable events, especially with the Adaptive Toy project.

“This donation would not be possible without the generosity of our customers and the additional contribution from our vendors such as Yokohama and Milestar,” he said.

You May Also Like

Yokohama Rubber reveals 2024 motorsports activity plan

Yokohama said participation in motorsports activities is crucial to its efforts to strengthen the Advan and GeoLandar brands.

Yokohama-Nitrocross

Yokohama Rubber revealed its motorsports activity plan for 2024. The company said participation in motorsports activities is crucial to its efforts to strengthen the Advan and GeoLandar brands and is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.

Yokohama Rubber will again supply its Advan tires to many teams participating in motorsports events, such as Japan’s Super GT, the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Yokohama Rubber’s GeoLandar tires will be supplied to teams participating in off-road races in North America and Asia, including the Baja 1000, King of the Hammers, the Mint 400 and the Asia Cross Country Rally.

TIA’s Advanced Farm Tire Service training to take place in June

The training class for technicians in the agricultural and farm tire industries is set to take place June 11-14.

TIA_training-
Maxxis-sponsored athletes make podium, overall top 10 at Mint 400

Maxxis athletes Michael McFayden, Ethan Ebert and Trey Gibbs had podium finishes at the Mint 400 on Maxxis RAZR XT tires.

2024-mint400-maxxis
Sun Auto Tire reveals winner of Ford Bronco Sport giveaway

Lowell Anderson entered the giveaway at his local Sun Auto Tire & Service store while receiving a routine oil change.

Sun-Auto-Bronco-giveaway
Nokian Tyres holds bracket challenge on worst roads in North America

In 2023, the tiremaker’s audience voted Quebec as the province or state with the worst road conditions on the continent.

Pothole-Protection-from-Nokian-Tyres

Other Posts

Gallery: 2024 Big O Tires conference and convention

Highlights from this year’s Big O Tires conference and convention, featuring a general session, trade show and breakout sessions.

Gary-Skidmore
Bridgestone’s Firestone Liberia rubber farm receives ISCC Plus recognition

According to Bridgestone, its Liberia facility earned the ISCC Plus certification for its efforts in reducing environmental impacts.

Firestone_Liberia
Ascenso Tires adds new OEM sales manager

Douglas Duesing has more than ten years of experience working in agriculture, construction and mining OEMs.

Ascenso-Douglas-Duesing-1400
Nexen Tire Motorsports drivers earn top placements at King of the Hammers

Nexen Tire Motorsports partnered with drivers across a variety of racing series both on- and off-road, including King of the Hammers.

Nexen-KOH