This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This phenomenal program, backed fully by donations from the local community, has had fantastic results. Over the past year, Market Street Mission has:

1- Served 88,000 meals to homeless and underprivileged individuals

2- Provided over 29,000 nights of shelter care for people in the Basic Needs and The Life Change Recovery Program

3- Distributed over 5,000 Winter coats during the annual Coat Giveaway the first weekend of November

The Douglas Auto Group became involved with Market Street Mission a few years ago when our President Jon Liebman began to personally donate to their cause. Jon was made aware of the Market Street Mission by longtime Douglas Infiniti customer Lew Kerman. Recently on June 18th, Mr. Kerman organized a charity Hole-In-One Golf Tournament at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, NJ. The tournament was in honor of the late Ted Kielbasa, a longtime and dear friend of Lew Kerman who passed away in February of 2010. Ted and his wife Janice had long been involved with Market Street Mission for many years. Their involvement had spurred Lew and his wife Deb to get involved with Market Street Mission. Douglas Infiniti provided the opportunity for one of the tournament golfers to walk away with a 2012 Infiniti G37 if they made a Hole-In-One on the 150 yard Hole #4. The Douglas Auto Group was happy to hear that the Hole-In-One tournament ended up raising over $20,000 for Market Street Mission.

On Thursday June 21st, Douglas Auto Group had the honor of visiting Market Street Mission and seeing their work in person. Douglas Auto Group Digital Marketing Director Ken Beam and myself received a tour of the facility. We were shown around by Market Street Mission Volunteer Coordinator Nancy C. Hanna and Development Director Phil Parsels. When the tour ended, we sat down and were given a little more background information on Market Street Mission as well as some interesting volunteer opportunities (see video above).

When the Douglas Auto Group assisted the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside this past Winter, we were explained how our food donation would be distributed to needy people at certain locales within New Jersey. To see one of these locations such as Market Street Mission at work taking care of the less fortunate, it made all of us at Douglas realize the importance of our efforts. If you would like to be part of the incredible cause and story that is Market Street Mission, please contact Nancy Hanna at 973-538-6337 or e-mail her at nchanna@marketstreet.org.

Why Douglas Infiniti?

10- Technology at your fingertips- Douglas Infiniti tries to make your relationship with our dealership as easy as possible. From our new smartphone app, to our mobile website all the way to our industry acclaimed videos, our digital prowess is unparalleled amongst other NJ dealerships.

9- Service Lounge- Many Douglas Infiniti customers have commented that they feel as though they are in a high-end boutique hotel when sitting in the Douglas Infiniti Service Lounge. Gourmet coffee, Wi-Fi, a Plasma TV and other luxurious amenities abound to make your stay at Douglas more than comfortable.

8- Service Perks – Douglas Infiniti offers a Shuttle Service to and from the Summit Train Station. Additionally, we provide loaner cars for Douglas Infiniti Service customers and a free car wash with each service appointment.

7- Caring For Those In Need – In light of this recent economic rough patch we’re experiencing, Douglas Infiniti realizes that we must all look to help each other. This past winter, we collected over 738lbs of food for the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside during our Douglas Infiniti Fill’er Up Food Drive.

6- All Roads Lead To Douglas Infiniti- Douglas Infiniti is nestled in Summit, NJ and conveniently located minutes from the Garden State Parkway. It is also not only easily accessible from Route 78 and Route 24 but a short drive from Route 287.

5- Small Town Values- Many of our customers come from within the Summit community. We see them on the roads and at the local shops. Throughout the years, we’ve come to be close friends with lots of Douglas Infiniti customers. We don’t consider ourselves to have a low-pressure environment but a no-pressure one. Our number one priority is to make sure you leave the dealership grounds satisfied.

4- Repeat Business- Lots of dealerships sing their own praises on a regular basis but very few have double digit customers such as Dr. Stephen Korson. Throughout the history of Douglas, we have been blessed to have many customers who have bought their 5th, 6th & 7th Infinitis from Douglas.

3- Family owned and operated since 1965- At Douglas, our company culture is far more precious than our bottom line. I can attest that not only are the employees valued and treated like family but so are the Douglas Infiniti customers. Cultures like that aren’t magically created overnight but harnessed and developed by a dignified and diligent ownership over a long period of time.

2- Employee experience- Douglas Infiniti boasts a workforce filled with a vast amount of employees with over a decade of service at the dealership. Specifically, our Sales Manager Jamie Fishbane has over 25 years at Douglas Infiniti and our Service Manager Gary Darling has over 20 years of service at Douglas Infiniti.

1- Customer Satisfaction- The single greatest truth in any business is that its backbone is its loyal customers. We’ve helped out over 150,000 customers over the years and strived to make each and every one of them a Douglas Infiniti customer for life. Take a look here at what they say about us.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Summit High Performing Arts

Back near the end of 2011, the Douglas Auto Group had our 1st Douglas Fill ‘Er Up Food Drive. At Douglas Infiniti and Douglas Volkswagen, we collected nearly 750 lbs of food for the Community Food Bank of NJ at Hillside. A substantial amount of the food was collected through the efforts of Summit High School’s Performing Arts Group. There was an event at Summit High School and the Summit Performing Arts students made sure the food drive flyers were distributed to all the local high schools in attendance. The Douglas VW van rolled onto the scene that morning and all the Summit Performing Arts students came out on that bitterly cold day to donate cans of food. Not only did their goodwill gesture of their food donations catch my eye but their polite, respectful and warm personalities made an impression on me. Their parents also continually checked up upon myself, my wife and two small kids to make sure we weren’t hungry or needed hot cocoa to keep ourselves warm.

Now these deserving kids need our help. They were one of only 40 high schools in the United States chosen to participate this Summer at the largest performing arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Many times throughout the year, we all get inundated with various organization asking us to donate our precious resources. The problem is always, “which ones do I help out because I can’t help them all?” Well, if you are going to pick and choose whom to help, I can vouch that these children and their parents are people worth helping. These children embody what I want my 2 small children to turn out to be: responsible and caring teenagers who will only improve the world once they embark on their adult lives. Please help their cause:

Here is a link to their donation page: http://shsfringe.tk/

No One In America Should Go Hungry

So we packed up the Douglas Auto Group Van with all of our assorted foods collected at Douglas Infiniti as well as Douglas Volkswagen and headed out to the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside. I expected to pull up in front of a big old warehouse, drop off the donation, shake a hand and be on our way. When we arrived, I got to meet Tristan Wallack, the Food Sourcing Coordinator for the food bank. He started to chat with myself and the Douglas Auto Group Marketing Director Ken Beam. What he told us was both humbling and eye-opening. The Community Food Bank of NJ started with one woman handing out assorted foods from the back of her station wagon in Newark, NJ nearly 20 years ago. Today they operate out of the largest food bank facility in the United States. It is a 280,000 sq/ft facility that is formerly the home of Kraft Foods. It is equivalent in size to 7 football fields.

When Tristan started at the food bank in 2008, they were providing food for 500,000 residents of NJ. Today at the end of 2011, the food bank provides for over 900,000 residents of the state of NJ. This past year, they have distributed roughly 40 million pounds of food within NJ. However, if they stopped receiving food today, the shelves of the entire facility would be barren within 6-8 weeks. Right before Governor Christie was sworn into office, he visited the food bank. He was quite straightforward in stating that he couldn’t make any promises as he was elected to help balance the budget and every program was on the table for discussion. When all was said and done, the Community Food Bank of NJ was one of only 3 state programs that wasn’t cut by Governor Christie.

While their food contribution to the state is an amazing feat, it only encompasses a part of the picture about the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside. As Ken and I were getting a tour of facility, we were shown their culinary arts program. The students were people given second chances in life by the food bank. Most of them were still in halfway homes trying to get their life in order. They were all being trained by a professional chef and it was mandatory that they weren’t late to class more than 3 times or they were dismissed from the program. If a student makes it through the program, the food bank has a year to year average of a 75%-90% job placement success rate. The Community Food Bank of NJ also runs a program to supply free school supplies to low-income schools, a clothing store for low-income families composed of new clothes from department stores and a thrift shop.

Tristan from the food bank pointed out that they get about 29,000 volunteers a year at their Hillside facility. Ken and myself cannot stress enough what an amazing experience it is to visit a place as inspiring as the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside. We strongly encourage everyone to volunteer some time there at some point in the near future. Typically the minimum age to volunteer is 12 years old. However, once every quarter they have a Family Day where everyone in your family can come down and volunteer. If you can’t make the time to volunteer at the food bank, please make sure to donate to their cause whenever possible. It is needed now more than ever. If you want to donate money or time to this food bank or any other charity, please first visit Charity Navigator,  American’s leading independent charity evaluator. Have a Happy Holidays.

Being aware of these facts, the Douglas Auto Group has organized the “Fill ‘Er Up Food Drive” at their Douglas Infiniti (430 Morris Ave) and Douglas Volkswagen (491 Morris Ave) dealerships in Summit, NJ. There is a Infiniti QX56 and a VW Van waiting to be filled with canned goods at Douglas Infiniti and Douglas VW respectively. For every family that loads 2 canned goods into the automobiles, they are entered into a contest where the Douglas Auto Group will give away 3 great prizes; a 32 GB iPad2, a free car detail and a free oil change/tire rotation. Once these automobiles are filled to capacity, they will be driven to the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside.

So while you are out shopping during this holiday season, please remember to stop by Douglas Infiniti or Douglas VW and donate to the food drive. You will not only be doing a good deed but you may be helping out someone you know and love.

Fill Up That QX56!

From Monday November 21st until Wednesday December 21st, Douglas Infiniti will be running the Fill ‘Er Up Food Drive. Bring down two canned goods to Douglas Infiniti at 430 Morris Ave in Summit, NJ and fill up the Infiniti QX56.

People who donate will then fill out a form to have a chance to win three prizes. We will have a drawing on Thursday December 22nd in which we will give away an Apple iPad, a free car detail and a free oil change/tire rotation to three of the people who donate.

Once the Douglas Infiniti QX56 is filled to capacity, the canned goods will then be driven off by Douglas Infiniti employees to the Community Food Bank of NJ in Hillside.

92.3 NOW‘s Lisa Paige was kickin’ it with the crowd last night at the Izod Center in New Jersey during the big Food Drive for the Community FoodBank of NJ. Lucky fans who brought in food for the needy were entered into a contest to meet their idol, Justin Bieber backstage.

Watch this video of Lisa explaining it all and chatting with some of the Beliebers who were kind enough to take part in this special event.

[worldnow id=5306728 width=385 height=288 type=video]

————

[photogallerylink id=85108]

[photogallerylink id=85125]

Community Food Bank of NJ

For more information on the Community FoodBank of New Jersey visit NJFoodBank.org >

The need for emergency food in NJ is up  45% !!! The percentage of hungry NewJerseyans is at an alarming high.  If we all take just a moment out of our day, we can  nourish our neighbors, enabling them to have a fighting chance.

A designated 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Community Foodbank of New Jersey is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks.(read more)

 When you visit www.njfoodbank.org/harrington you’ll be able to purchase a variety of food items that will be delivered to a NJ family in need.   Won’t you join us in our fight to  make a difference?

Please share our virtual food drive with your friends and family, in NJ or around the globe.  Together, our families can make a difference.