Hansel Subaru is a pillar in the Santa Rosa community and has helped multiple organizations throughout the year, including Canine Companions for Independence. By including Canine Companions in the Share the Love Campaign, we are able to place more life-changing assistance dogs with people who need them most. Hansel Subaru donates to Canine Companions, but also encourage their clients to donate, and gives much needed in-kind advertising support by including Canine Companions’ logo in their marketing. This year they hosted a Halloween pet costume contest that resulted in multiple mentions on the radio station, which is advertising Canine Companions typically cannot pay for. In addition, Canine Companions is also borrowing a wrapped vehicle to use while visiting our graduates, puppy raisers and donors. The true gratitude for what Hansel has accomplished by investing in Canine Companions can be illustrated through the stories of our graduates. Marcella, one of our graduates from Rohnert Park was matched with a Hearing Dog named Vespa in May. Vespa is expertly trained to nudge Marcella when sounds occur in her environment. Before having an assistance dog Marcella struggled with being able to hear simple things that others might take for granted such as door bells, smoke alarms or her cell phone ringing. When she was matched with Vespa that all changed! “No more lost keys I dropped, missed phone calls, burnt cookies, sleeping through alarms, or friends stopping by and not hearing the doorbell,” Marcella said. She has greater independence knowing she is safer and has less worry about hearing sounds in her environment. Another success story for Canine Companions in 2018 was the launch of our pilot program to help veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because of partnerships like Hansel Subaru, we can continue to train our dogs to perform tasks to help people live better lives. Our first class of four veterans was on our campus in Santa Rosa in October. All four veterans immediately benefited by being matching with an assistance dog that can wake them up from a night terror by gently pulling a blanket off and turning on a light, be a buffer for them in public by blocking in front of the veteran or behind (having their back) and can interrupt anxiety throughout the day as it occurs. The dogs are also trained to retrieve medication from another room in case a veteran cannot get up to get it. David, one of the veterans in the first class said that the assistance dog he was matched with, Sesame, woke him up from two-night terrors before the training was over. “Sesame will help me cope with the demons in my dreams,” David said towards the end of the two-weeks. We truly appreciate the support Hansel Subaru gives us to make these stories possible. Through the Share the Love Campaign and Sponsorship to our gala, Hansel Subaru has donated over $83,000 to give greater independence to those who need it most. They are a true reflection of what it means to live in a community that cares. Thank you, Hansel Subaru!

On July 17th, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Greater Bay Area Chapter teamed up with Hansel Subaru to deliver blankets, arts and craft kits, and dozens of message of hope cards written by the caring customers of Hansel Subaru. It was wonderful to see how many staff members from Hansel were ready to chip in and deliver the blankets to St. Joseph's, we had an entire crew to head over to St. Joseph’s. Our crew got even bigger with St. Joseph’s staff to bring in all the boxes of blankets! Thank you to Hansel Subaru for making a difference!

On July 25, staff from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Greater Bay Area Chapter teamed up with Andre and Jesse from Hansel Subaru to deliver 80 blankets, 10 arts & craft kits, and dozens of messages of hope to the St. Joseph Health Cancer Care in Santa Rosa. The staff from the cancer center were so excited & thankful to be receiving this generous gift from Subaru! As the nurses explained, even though it was a hot and sunny day outside, the chemotherapy drugs often cause patients to become cold from the inside out – so blankets are really much needed! At the hospital, we also met long-time LLS volunteer and leukemia survivor Dylan. Dylan was diagnosed with leukemia when he was only three years old. After beginning chemotherapy, doctors discovered that the treatment that works for most kids did not work for Dylan. He had to go into a special trial which fortunately saved his life! Today, Dylan is 14 and spends most of his time playing sports. You would never know looking at him today of all the struggles he has gone through. Dylan jumped in to help hand out blankets and words of encouragement to patients in the St. Joseph infusion center. What a touching moment to have Dylan passing out these blankets to his fellow survivors! Thank you, Hansel Subaru, for making this happen and supporting such an important and much-needed cause!

Hansel Subaru of Santa Rosa recently partnered with the Sonoma Humane Society to help find homes for a large number of worthy dogs and cats seeking their forever homes. On July 9th, Hansel Subaru's showroom was filled with portable dog carriers each containing a happy, hopeful pooch. More than a dozen cats were in the Sonoma Humane Society's mobile trailer so visitors could see and meet them. The event, scheduled from 11:00am to 3:00pm, was heavily promoted for several weeks through social media and local FM radio station KRUSH, though nobody could predict if anyone would actually turn up, since this had never been done before at the dealership. Any fears about lack of attendance were quickly allayed. In no time, the parking lot was full, and dozens of animal lovers filled the showroom. Ears were scratched, tails were wagged, hearts were stolen, papers were signed. One by one, pups and cats, young and old, were carried off to loving homes. In the end, the day proved to be one of the most successful on-site pet adoption events ever for the Sonoma Humane Society, with eight dogs and 14 cats finding homes. "It was an absolutely amazing turnout," said Wendy Welling, director of marketing for the Sonoma Humane Society. “This day wasn't about generating car sales," said St. Louis. "It was just a happy feeling. Everyone was walking around all day with a smile on their face. Customer and staff morale was at an all-time high."

Hansel Subaru, in Santa Rosa, California is a proud participant of the "Subaru Loves the Earth" e-waste recycling event. The sales and management staff have been actively promoting the event to customers, friends, and family. "Subaru has a reputation as an earth-friendly company," says Wes St. Louis, general manager of Hansel Subaru. "We feel the e-waste event is a perfect fit for our customer base." Two large, cardboard receptacles have been placed in the showroom--alongside new Subarus on display--to receive e-waste, including old televisions, cell phones, printers, computers, and other electronic devices. All e-waste will be disposed of safely and conscientiously, recycling and keeping harmful materials out of our landfills. Hansel Subaru's already environmentally conscious customers have responded enthusiastically, bringing a variety of e-waste items for disposal. "It's about being part of the solution," says Wes. "Our customers appreciate that Hansel Subaru is making the effort, and that makes them feel even better about doing business with Subaru."

In November, Canine Companions for Independence® was selected by Hansel Subaru, in Santa Rosa, California, as the "Hometown" charity for the 2014-2015 Share the Love Campaign. We had a tremendous experience with Hansel's terrific leadership and sales staff who were so excited to have us involved. We brought puppies to the dealership, staged our GIANT blow up assistance dog, "Independence" outside the showroom, and brought graduate teams to meet Hansel's customers to talk about the remarkable work our assistance dogs perform on behalf of children and adults with disabilities. We had a booth inside the showroom with information which was hosted by our graduate teams and volunteers. We also provided a tour of our campus for Hansel employees prior to the start of the Share the Love Campaign. Most significantly, the overwhelming majority of customers who purchased a Subaru during the Share the Love Campaign selected Canine Companions as the charity of choice. We received over $11,000, thanks to at least 44 buyers who chose Canine Companions. We are thrilled with the results, and Hansel and Canine Companions are continuing their relationship in 2015. We're grateful to Hansel and Subaru for sharing the love with Canine Companions for Independence.

Hansel Subaru in Santa Rosa, California, has a long tradition of giving back to the community. As part of Subaru's Share the Love campaign, our dealership sponsored an event with a national, non-profit organization headquartered in our town that raises service dogs for the disabled. Two of our sales staff, Corey McGoldrick and Wes Hill, toured the facilities and helped organize an on-site event featuring these service dogs and demonstrating how they help change the lives of those in need. Customers were encouraged to join the fun by bringing their own dogs to the dealership on the day of the event. As a result of this event, considerable money and awareness of this vital service was raised. Many customers who bought new cars chose this organization to receive the $250 Subaru Share the Love donation. In addition, Corey McGoldrick and Wes Hill both signed up as volunteers at the service dog organization to help carry their good work forward into the future.