Buy from Bud Clary, help a local charity

MOSES LAKE - This year, Bud Clary of Moses Lake teams up with the Columbia Basin Herald to spread cheer and wealth to a selected group of charities that benefit Moses Lake.

All those involved, sponsors and recipients both, are focused on doing the most good for the most people of the Basin.

Four charities will benefit each time someone buys a new or pre-owned car from Bud Clary of Moses Lake, including Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin, Serve Moses Lake, New Hope and Moses Lake Food Bank, Vonn Jones, of Bud Clary Ford and Honda, said.

The four charities kept being mentioned during the selection process, said Chuck Wade, of Bud Clary Chevrolet and Toyota and Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep.

"There are lots of great charities here, but I wanted the money to stay as local as possible and help the people here," he said. Wade believes that in order for the Basin to prosper, it is important to shop local, as well.

The four organizations recognize the importance of community charity and what role they play in it.

"We're wonderful. We offer a direct service to the community, and with our low over head, donations go a long way. We do the very best job for the community we can," Moses Lake Food Bank Operations Manager Peny Archer said.

Serve Moses Lake Director Tim Cloyd said they have a direct effect on the community by providing a hot meal for roughly 50 to 60 people four days a week, and funding their "Transformation House," which provides housing for men and women "changing a major issue in their life," he said.

New Hope Program Director Danielle Hill said their work is supporting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Grant and Adams counties.

"We provide supervision, provisions and help with legal and medical advocacy," she said. Hill believes when families are safe the community is better for generations to come.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin helps keep kids busy after school and in the summer.

"Our main purpose is to provide after school and non school day services for kids in our area. We serve all kids K - 12. We provide a positive place with positive role models in those tough after school hours when parents are still working, a safe place to be," the club's executive director Brant Mayo said.

Each organization serves a special purpose.

"What they do for the community is very important. Each one of these charities does something different and adds diversity (of assistance) to the people that need help, from food on the table to young kids trying to not go down the wrong path, or people who have been battered or don't have a warm coat to wear," Wade said.

The fundraiser gives people of the Basin an opportunity to help charities of the Basin help the people here, Wade said. He said when a customer of Bud Clary buys a new or pre-owned car, money gets distributed to each charity, although the buyer can endorse a certain one.

Some of the charities, like Serve Moses Lake, is entirely funded with local dollars. They receive no grants from federal or state grants, Cloyd said, because, "We are responsible for our own community," he said.