RV Industry Raises Money For Elkhart Area Charities

The following is a compilation of stories from RVBusiness. 

The RV Industry Association and its members are committed to giving back to their communities through volunteering and investment, helping to retain a strong workforce and recruit the next group of innovators into the RV industry. This fall, industry members have been particularly active in their local Elkhart, IN community, eager to support the “RV Capital of the World” and its ongoing charitable initiatives.

One of the most recent events RV industry members attended was hosted by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana, which offers a variety of services to families with a child receiving treatment at Beacon Children’s Hospital.

The event hosted by Ronald McDonald House Charities, McDazzle Featuring Kilts for Kids, was attended by well over 500 people and took place at the Century Center in South Bend, IN, as reported by RVBusiness.

“McDazzle is our annual dinner gala where we offer the opportunity for individuals across the Michiana community to fundraise for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana,” explained President & CEO Kiersten Eifler.

“The one thing that Ronald McDonald House really takes pride in is that families who utilize our services do so at no cost to them,” she pointed out. “So, everything that we have and provide to them, whether it be meals or showers or toiletries in their overnight stays, that is at no cost to any family. That’s why we rely so heavily on events like this in our community to fund us since we are 100% funded by the community itself.”

One of the unique aspects is the Kilts for Kids portion, in which teams don a kilt – they typically will choose a team name inspired by their kilt attire – and “compete” for pledge donations leading up to last night’s event, and then take the stage to solicit more donations from the audience. Of the nine teams this year, two have direct ties to the RV industry. The three men for “Plaid to the Bone” all represented Lippert, while the “Kilted Kampers” ladies all came from East To West RV, and in the end, the Kilted Kampers came away with the win as the best kilters.

In addition, more than a handful of RV companies are sponsors of the event, including Lippert, Forest River Inc., East To West RV, Jayco, Airxcel, and American Technology Components (ATC). The Elkhart Community Foundation also is a major sponsor.

“The RV industry has been very, very generous in supporting us, whether that be the part of the companies having kilters for us that are out there fundraising in the community, down to some of the companies and individuals from the RV industry, buying tables, and trying to have their presence at the events by being sponsors for us,” Eifler said. “So, not only are they helping us get the events up and running in some capacity – being kilters and fundraising for us on their own – they’re also at the event, supporting the event with sponsorships and by bidding on auction items while at the event.”

She noted that many of Ronald McDonald House Charities’s board and committee members also come from the RV industry, which has helped serve as a bridge of sorts to Elkhart County, which is where most of the families come from to use Ronald McDonald House Charities’ services.

Along with supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities, RV companies have also been supporting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Elkhart County as part of the annual “Bids 4 Kids” October 7th auction at the RV/MH Hall of Fame’s Orthwein Pavilion. According to RVBusiness, there were over 150 donors from the RV and marine industries at the auction, along with quick opening comments from LCI Industries President and CEO Jason Lippert, who has spearheaded the charity auction for 15 years. The event also featured live entertainment, a catered dinner, silent and live auctions and, as usual, some bids so generous that the fundraising auction’s total net proceeds exceeded $2 million.

“Every year we say it can’t get any better than the year we just had,” said Lippert. “We just somehow seem to outdo ourselves. But the (auction) committees come up with a lot. We just try to get more creative every year with some of the items. And we have a lot of great people that donate items who showed up huge despite the fact that I was a little nervous beforehand given the state of the RV business right now. But it obviously didn’t stop anybody from bidding big.”

“We’re just grateful for all the RV and marine industry people, 90% of the crowd, who made this event possible both from the sponsorship and bidding sides, which is where the bulk of the money comes from,” he added. “We had a hundred Lippert staffers there bidding, which is awesome, and 40 Lippert volunteers working there.”

“So, Lippert supports it big time,” he continued. “And then, I’d just like to point out just how gracious everybody is that night. It’s coming together to make a better place for a lot of kids. We drive values and everything that they do in their programming. And it’s just awesome that we’re setting up these kids and the club for the long term.”

The Director of Corporate and Community Impact Michilah Grimes added: “The event this year has really made me take a step back and realize that for twelve years I have witnessed this community’s dedication to changing the trajectory of future generations, while seeing them recognize each child as an individual who deserves the best chance at every good thing this life has to offer.

“We are incredibly blessed to live in a community that when asked to jump, immediately says, ‘How high?’” she says. “It is this spirit of caring that ties us together and truly makes this world a better place.”

To learn more about how the RV industry gives back to its community, visit the RV Industry Association’s Our Impact page here.