Sheehy Auto donations grow during pandemic

After Virginia put a shelter-in-place order into effect March 30 as the coronavirus outbreak spread, schools closed and the rural Colonial Beach Public School district moved some classes online. But the district's two schools and 600 students were short of iPads and Wi-Fi hotspots for Internet access.

Enter Sheehy Toyota of Fredericksburg.

Karen Camlin, the district's director of federal programs, called Kevin Runey, general manager of the Toyota store, and asked for help. Less than a week later, she had a check big enough to purchase six iPads and pay for the hotspots so students in the district could get online and stay current with their studies.

"A lot of students don't have access. When COVID hit, we wanted to get them involved [with online classes] as soon as possible," said Camlin, who noted that the iPads have been checked out by students.

"Toyota has helped our schools in the past. They've always been so gracious; every year they've given our school money."

The Toyota store is a good example of how Sheehy Auto Stores, a 29-dealership group, has approached helping local organizations throughout the pandemic.

Even though Sheehy Toyota's new- and used-vehicle sales collapsed in April and were slower than usual in May and June, the Fredericksburg store spent about $30,000 to help pay for food for students in need and for the hotspots and iPads, and to cover the costs of summer camp for children.

Runey said the store's generous giving in a time of financial uncertainty also helped the dealership's own employees. Each Sheehy store participated in a companywide initiative to offer health care workers up to a $500 discount for vehicle maintenance and repairs.

That offer brought in business that kept technicians, service advisers and parts department personnel working, Runey said.

"We were able to avoid furloughing some employees," he said. "And those that did have to stay home were called back within three weeks. We were able to bring everybody back."

In addition to the service discount, the Sheehy stores have donated at least $108,000 to community organizations since the beginning of the pandemic after Vince Sheehy, president of the Fairfax, Va.-based group, accelerated the group's giving. Sheehy Auto Stores, with locations in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland, usually makes most of its charitable donations later in the summer.

Sheehy Auto Stores ranks 37th on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with 2019 retail sales of 21,880 new vehicles and 22,482 used vehicles.

At Sheehy Toyota of Fredericksburg, which sells about 1,800 new and 1,600 used vehicles in a good year, every one of the dealership's 122 employees helps in some way to raise money for local causes, Runey said.

"Everybody is engaged, and we truly keep it local to our community where we do business," he said.

The rest of Sheehy Toyota's donations this spring went to another school district where about 40 percent of students receive discounted meals; the local chapter of the YMCA; Empowerhouse, a facility that provides shelter and support for victims of domestic violence; and Micah Ecumenical Ministries, which helps homeless people get off the streets.

Runey said giving to local causes is a two-way street. This year, two vehicles were sold to organizations the store supports.

"The community stands behind us when we get involved. It's full circle," he said. "We donate and get involved in the community, and the community supports us as well. They could have bought their vehicles anywhere. And they chose us because we support them."