The Elegance at Hershey Distributes $200,000 From June Events to its Charities, Including $140,000 to JDRF

HERSHEY, Pa., Oct. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Emerging as one of the most unique and successful charitable fundraising events of its kind in the Northeast, organizers of The Elegance at Hershey today distributed $200,000 to its designated charities, including $140,000 to JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

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The Elegance at Hershey, a weekend-long series of vintage and collector car events each June at the historic Hotel Hershey®, also presented $30,000 to the Antique Automobile Museum in Hershey, with a similar distribution to the AACA Library & Research Center. The check presentations bring to more than $400,000 the total raised for charity through The Elegance at Hershey in its first two years.

"With the generous help from our sponsors, donors and patrons, we are pleased to again make these significant contributions to our beneficiaries," noted Michael Rich, a member of the Elegance at Hershey Board, whose late father, Jack Rich, was a dedicated founder of the first Elegance at Hershey in 2011. "Combining the very finest in cars with very worthwhile causes we have established The Elegance as a major national philanthropic event," he said. Michael Rich and his wife Joannie both serve on The Elegance at Hershey board of directors.

"In just two years we are proud to present nearly a quarter of a million dollars to our main beneficiary, JDRF," Mr. Rich said, acknowledging the assistance this year of Cynthia and Edsel B.  Ford II, great-grandson of Henry Ford, who served as Honorary Chairs for the 2012 Elegance at Hershey. The Fords are major supporters of JDRF at both the national and international levels.

In addition, Rich noted, Lincoln served as Title Sponsor for the 2012 Elegance at Hershey, providing contributions to JDRF for each Lincoln test drive taken by Elegance at Hershey attendees.

"JDRF exists to fund research projects to unravel the cure for type 1 diabetes -- an autoimmune disease -- develop better treatments until there is a cure and understand the ways in which we can prevent the disease in the first place," explained Susan Harral, Executive Director of JDRF Central Pennsylvania.  "JDRF was founded in 1970 by parents who wanted a disease-free life for their children stricken with type 1 diabetes and over the past 42 years has granted more than $1.6 billion for research."

"Today, there are more than 50 clinical trials underway, due in large part to the funding of research from events such as The Elegance at Hershey.  JDRF is truly grateful for the efforts of Michael and Joannie Rich and The Elegance committee in creating not only a beautiful event, but one that benefits charity in such a significant way," Harral said.

"The AACA Museum's board of directors, along with myself, the staff and volunteers wish to thank The Elegance at Hershey for this sizable donation," commented Mark Lizewskie, Executive Director of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum.  "Our affiliation with The Elegance at Hershey is a huge honor, and this donation will assist to continue our core values of being a vital educational asset of the community.  The AACA Museum is dedicated to the celebration, preservation, education, and display of motor vehicle history which provides value to our members, hobbyists and the public," Lizewskie said.

"Our AACA Library & Research Center is a free public library," noted Steve Moskowitz, Executive Director of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA). "The donation from The Elegance at Hershey is a significant donation for our cause.  We believe we provide a benefit to historians world-wide and this donation helps us in our mission to educate people about our past. On behalf of the board of directors of AACA we sincerely thank The Elegance at Hershey for their generosity," he said.

Held the second weekend in June, The Elegance at Hershey begins on Friday and Saturday with The Grand Ascent, a two-day revival of the historic Hershey Hill Climb on its original challenging course behind the Hotel Hershey®. Featuring more than 40 vintage race cars in a timed competition, Honorary Chair of the 2012 Grand Ascent was Wayne Carini, host of Discovery Channel's Velocity TV "Chasing Classic Cars" series. 

The Elegance at Hershey main event on Sunday is titled simply "The Elegance," a judged concours featuring more than 60 of the world's rarest and most collectible automobiles, arrayed through the formal gardens of The Hotel Hershey®.  This year, PA Governor Tom Corbett presented the prestigious Governor's Cup to Jim Patterson of The Patterson Collection in Louisville, KY with his 1936 Delahaye 135 M Competition Court.

The 2013 Elegance at Hershey June 14-16 will again feature two days of vintage hill climb racing on Friday and Saturday, a 5-K run on Saturday that  includes the Grand Ascent course as part of its route and The Elegance on Sunday, June 16.  All events take place at The Hotel Hershey® and are open to the public. Advance ticketing and other information is available at www.theeleganceathershey.com. 

MEDIA CONTACT:  
Joe Benish  
The Elegance at Hershey  
Office (717) 534-1910
Cell (717) 609-9059

SOURCE The Elegance at Hershey