Published: November 03, 2009 09:55 am      

BEF to benefit from test drives

BROWNSBURG — Feel like test driving a car? How about donating $20 to the Brownsburg Education Foundation?

Bill Estes Ford and the Brownsburg Education Foundation are making both goals easy next weekend when they host the Drive One 4 UR School program from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Brownsburg High School Senior Academy, 1000 South Odell St.

To donate $20 to the foundation, participants simply spend seven to 10 minutes test driving a car.

Christy Huston, executive director of the BEF, said the foundation was excited at the opportunity to take advantage of the fundraiser.

“The foundation was very excited because for seven minutes of driving, each individual’s time would be worth $20 to the education foundation and that $20 will add up if we can entice 300 individuals to come out and donate seven minutes of time,” she said. “That would mean $6,000 more for the Brownsburg Education Foundation to give out in scholarships to students and grants to teachers for classroom learning.”

Andy Wernsman, general manager of Bill Estes Ford in Brownsburg, said they were happy to help the foundation raise money.

“It’s a program that Ford motor company has put out with the local dealers ... it’s not about us, it’s about the Brownsburg Education Foundation,” he said. “It’s a way to get people in new Ford products, money for kids and people that need it.”

Wernsman said giving back to the community is important to the dealership.

“We live and die on Hendricks County,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the people in these communities, we wouldn’t exist. We feel like the best thing we can do is give back to the community and it’s something we enjoy doing.”

The money will be donated by Ford and they will pay up to $6,000 for the event.

Huston said they’ve never participated in a fundraiser like this before.

“For most of us, it’s a lot easier to spend seven minutes test driving a car than writing a $20 check and the benefits are the same for the foundation,” she said. “Our scholarships that we award to Brownsburg High School seniors are typically $1,000, so $6,000 is an important opportunity for our foundation. There’s no gimmick, no hard sell.”

Huston said there would also be refreshments, as well as door prizes and goodie bags for participants. There will be 10 cars available to test drive, including the Flex, the new Taurus, Focus, Fusion, F-150, Edge, Escape, and possibly a Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Bill Estes Ford will be giving away a Garmin GPS device, as well as a ZUNE MP3 player as door prizes at the event.

Participants must be 18 or older to test drive a vehicle. There will also only be one test drive per household.

For more information or to contact the BEF, visit the website at www.brownsburg.k12.in.us/foundation or call 852-5726.

charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com