Subaru announces ‘Share the Love’ donation of $15 million to charities

When Subaru of America announced on March 2 that it had donated $15 million to charities in 2014 for its “Share the Love” program, Tony Greadington was in Kansas City promoting the product. He believes in the company.

Greadington, an event liaison for Subaru, was in town for the 2015 Greater Kansas City International Auto Show a week ago at Bartle Hall. He spent a few minutes talking about the “Share the Love” program.

“I think it is great,” said Greadington, who goes to eight to 10 auto shows a year. “It makes it a pleasure to work here, knowing that Subaru cares about the community and cares about different charitable organizations. They put their money where their mouth is.”

In the last part of 2014, Subaru donated $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased. Customers who purchased or leased a vehicle during that period selected one of several charities.

The four national charities Subaru supported were ASPCA, Make-A-Wish, Meals on Wheels America and the National Park Foundation.

In addition to the four national organizations, each Subaru retailer selected a charity from its local community to support. More than 600 local charities were selected by Subaru retailers.

It is the seventh year for the Subaru program. During that time, Subaru has donated $50 million.

In previous years, $5 million was donated. The reason why the amount tripled this year from the first year was the growing popularity of Subaru.

“We have our loyal buyers who continue to come back and support Subaru,” Greadington said. “We are smart enough to realize the market. They continue to build a car that is safe and affordable.

“And it is a good-looking car, too. We changed with the market for the better.”

Greadington said the Outback is selling very well and the Forester is a good seller.

“Our whole line has been selling well,” Greadington said.

One of Subaru’s selling points is safety.

“We come up with more every year,” Greadington said of the safety features on Subaru vehicles. “We have something called Subaru EyeSight, which is popular.”

EyeSight is Subaru’s driver assist technology that is offered on the Subaru Legacy, Outback, Forester, Impreza and XV Crosstrek models. It uses stereo cameras for adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking and vehicle lane departure warning.

EyeSight is one of the many reasons why all Subaru models have earned 2015 Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Greadington spends hours at auto shows educating customers who have questions about Subaru. He does it with a smile because he knows Subaru is doing good things in the auto world and in the community.

In a press release, Alan Bethke, vice president of marketing for Subaru, said “Share the Love” is a special event.

“We are honored to be able to support both our owners’ philanthropic spirit and the work of these incredible organizations,” Bethke said. “Subaru is proud to have donated $50 million to a host of national and local charities since the inception of the program. Subaru owners and retailers are making a positive impact in their communities.”

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 7:00 PM.