Art Van Furniture Revs Up To Award Nearly $200,000 To Six Metro Detroit Nonprofits At Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge Dream Cruise Bash August 15!

WARREN, Mich., Aug. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Two great events…one fun night! On Friday, August 15 from 6 to 8 p.m., Art Van Furniture will hand out nearly $200,000 in grant checks to six deserving metro Detroit nonprofits at a Woodward Dream Cruise Bash at the retailer's Royal Oak store (32301 Woodward Avenue). Charities in four states rocked around the clock for five consecutive weeks to raise the most money during the 2014 Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge "Challenge Grant Competition." The event will include delicious diner fare, classic oldies music, and a sneak preview of classic cars and hot rods cruising down Woodward.

The six metro Detroit charities in the top ten receiving grants from Art Van Furniture are:

• 2^nd Place - $60,000 grant - ACCESS, providing wide-ranging services to low income individuals
• 3^rd Place - $50,000 grant - New Day Foundation for Families, serving young families affected by cancer
• 4^th Place - $40,000 grant - Vision Hope Community Development Corporation, serving the needs of abused and abandoned foster care children
• 8^th Place - $15,000 grant - Hope Center in Macomb, which distributes over 100,000 pounds of food each month to 3,800 individuals in need
• 9^th Place - $10,000 grant - The Stephen Tulloch Foundation, adopting local schools that need improvements
• 10^th Place - $7,500 grant - National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Detroit Section, providing community service projects for children through seniors, and public affairs and social programs

Art Van Furniture partnered with crowdrise.com, an online fundraising site for charities, on the 2014 Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge "Challenge Grant Competition." A record was set during the five week pledge period for raising the most money during the last day, and the last hour, of any previous challenge on the Crowdrise website. Over $1.2 million was given back to the 55 competing charities focusing on children, health care and human services in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana through the challenge.

Since its inception, the Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge has awarded over $6 million in grants and inspired donations of more than $18 million. A complete list of all 55 winning charities is on artvan.com.

Art Van Furniture's 2014 Award of Hope will also be presented to two of its charity partners. William Seklar, who raised funds for five years for the Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, and Reverend Faith Fowler, executive director of Cass Community Social Services, will accept the awards on behalf of the nonprofits. Earlier this year, Candy Fitzsimons, executive director of the Bay Harbor Foundation, was also presented with the Award of Hope.

About Art Van Furniture

Art Van Furniture is the Midwest's largest furniture retailer and America's largest independent furniture retailer. The company operates 46 stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, including six stores in Chicagoland, plus 38 freestanding Art Van PureSleep mattress stores in Michigan and Ohio, and a full service e-commerce website. Founded in 1959, the company is family-owned and headquartered in Warren, Michigan. Visit artvan.com for more information. 

SOURCE Art Van Furniture