Each year, car wash organizations contribute countless hours and dollars to the communities they serve. We want to make sure we’re capturing those stories and highlighting that impact, so in every issue of CAR WASH Magazine we’ll be shedding light on some of these good deeds. 

Share Your Good Deeds

Let us know what causes are important to you and how you are making a difference in your community in 2024: www.carwash.org/community.

QuickDry

Over 300 car wash locations partnered with QB Enterprises, dba Quick Dry, to distribute Quick Dry’s “Go Pink!” microfiber towels — an interest that not only took Quick Dry a little by surprise, but one that created an incredible story, bonded strangers together and equated to an adventure filled with sticker-filled pizza parties, late-night logistics and a lot of learning. 

The plan was a fairly simple one, at first: Quick Dry was going to order a few pallets of pink towels for a handful of customers to promote breast cancer awareness. This idea quickly developed into a more formal fundraising campaign to support Breastcancer.org and Hospice of the Piedmont.

And after Quick Dry promoted its initiative at The Car Wash Show 2023 (remember the bright pink carpet?) and the word got out, interest levels escalated, pre-orders poured in — and the campaign became personal. 

“We heard so many stories that impacted us about people that either were going through cancer or had gone through it or had relatives that had,” said QB Enterprises’ marketing manager, Jonathan Wiles. “Last year's car wash show was probably the most touching emotionally and meaningful.”

“It's not just about washing a car. These are people. Everybody has a story. Everybody has a value,” Jonathan said. “It brings value to the car wash more than just getting a clean car,” said Lindsay Wiles. “There are people involved, emotions and relationships.”

From there, it just kind of grew, he said. “It was a lot of education and a lot of phone calls.” 

As it grew, it morphed into individual fundraising initiatives, with car washes establishing their own donation drives involving the pink towels. “I don't think we saw that coming or that this campaign would touch this number of foundations and research groups,” Lindsay said.

Some of the participating car washes included: Autobell, Benny's, College Park, Executive Laser Wash, Flagstop, GO, Sam’s, Spark, Speedi, Splash, Supershine Xpress, Wash N Roll, WashHounds, Washtopia, Waterway and White Horse. Distributors also helped raise awareness, including Kleen-Rite, Car Wash Superstore, Windtrax and Bozeman.

“This is going to be something that’s going to grow on, something we need to do every year,” Jonathan said. “It was more successful than we could have imagined.”

Stick-y Pizza Parties 

More than 35 pallets of pink microfiber towels (200,000+) had to be shipped to over 300 car wash locations in over 20 states – and 50,000 of the towels needed a custom label attached before being mailed. And they only had a week and a half to do it. “It was mathematically improbable that we could get it done,” Jonathan Wiles said.

They beat the odds by holding a sticker-applying pizza party every night and coming up with a by-the-minute logistics plan. “It was a blast,” Wiles said. 

Hear more about Quick Dry’s Go Pink! initiative — and what they’ve learned from it and their work with special needs groups — at www.carwashmagazine.com or in the app. 

Autobell Car Wash 

Autobell Car Wash was one of the car washes to purchase Quick Dry towels and use them to help support their fundraising efforts in October. They partnered with National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. during October to support its mission to inspire hope and provide help for those affected by breast cancer, including early detection, education and support services.
 
Autobell offered first-time Unlimited car wash plan members their first month for just $5 and donated a portion of the proceeds to NBCF. As a bonus during this promotional period, new Unlimited customers also received a pink microfiber towel.

All 87 Autobell site participated in this fundraiser, which raised $3,000 for NBCF.

Motor City Wash Works

Since 2014, Motor City Wash Works has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and has donated almost $2 million— raising funds through its Open House and Charity Auction and its point-of-sale campaign, “Washing Cars. Fighting Cancer.”

At the 2023 Charity Auction, $342,000 was raised during a bidding war for MCWW equipment, St. Jude patients’ handmade artwork and Give-to-Live segments. “The message that it is truly all about the kids sticks with the theme and makes it very emotional,” said Jim Utterback, MCWW director of marketing. “My personal favorite moment is the Give-to-Live feature of the live auction. There is never a dry eye in the place at that time.” The auctioneer starts the donation amount at $10,000 and works her way down to $100, he said. “This is where you see the pure generosity and humanity of our industry. The donations come in as fast as you can read the bidder numbers to record them.”

They also have a dunk tank, a mini trade show event, a live raffle and vendor partner sponsorships at the auction, which is usually held in August each year.

“The energy and generosity of the open house event is unmatched. Each year this event proves how giving the car wash industry is!” said Megan Phelps of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Every year, interest in the POS campaign grows and “100% of the money donated goes to help the children of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. And, let’s be honest, it’s all about the kids!” Utterback said.

WhiteWater Express Car Wash

For some, starting a new project means taking things slow. Not for WhiteWater Express. In their first-ever partnership with a nationwide nonprofit, they raised $50,000 — and in only a month. The organization they chose to partner with was Susan G. Komen, which is devoted to finding breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer.

“This was a cause we could all get behind. Everyone has — in some way, shape or form — known someone who has been impacted by breast cancer,” said Kelli Scandrol, vice president of marketing. “We wanted to pick something that felt special or meaningful to everyone. Susan G. Komen felt like the right organization for our first pass at partnering with a nationwide nonprofit.”

The fundraiser was tied to WhiteWater’s Unlimited Speed Club membership program. For each new member who signed on in October, a portion of the sale went to Susan G. Komen. All of their stores participated, which meant more than 100 sites were on board in Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Ohio.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the men and women here at WhiteWater that made this donation possible for such a great cause. These are the types of events that make WhiteWater a truly special place,” said Clayton Clark, president and COO of WhiteWater Express.

WhiteWater has set the bar high, and already is working on plans to raise it even higher in 2024. “This year, we’re looking at organizing another fundraiser and, hopefully, more than one, based on the success of our 2023 partnership with Susan G. Komen,” Scandrol said. 

National Carwash Solutions

In 2023, National Carwash Solutions celebrated 50 years in the business by organizing a $50,000 donation to Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund.
 
“The decision to collaborate with Johnny Mac stems from NCS’s deep-rooted belief in supporting the education of children and to honor the veterans. The funds will go toward education expenses of children of fallen or wounded soldiers,” said James Belanger, SVP equipment and marketing.
 
“We have Johnny Mac as one of our Passion Projects and made donations twice last year — one during The Car Wash Show to mark our 50 years in the business and one in December as part of our Giving Month,” said Justine Johnson, director of marketing.
 
While the majority of the donations came from NCS employees and leadership, NCS also collaborated with its partners in the fundraising, including: Take 5 Car Wash, ModWash, Spinx, Summit Wash Holdings, Magnolia Wash Holdings and Watershed.
 
Also as part of the fundraising initiative, NCS hosted outings with its clients to the NCAA tournament’s semi-final and championship games. Clients were invited to contribute to the cause, resulting in generous donations. This collaborative effort culminated at The Car Wash Show 2023, where all donors had the opportunity to present the check to Johnny Mac.
 
“It has been amazing to see the NCS team come together and exemplify our mission: To make life better through car washing,” Balenger said. “I’m proud to be part of something that is important to me personally and to our organization. It’s gotten a lot of traction and resonated with our organization. So many of our companies have veterans involved with us and we have a large veteran population at NCS, so we thought this would be the perfect place to go and, so far, it has been.”