CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FIRST METRO/HARKIN SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

It was only a year ago that we dreamed up the idea of the Metro-Harkin Scholarship: a unique program that would pay for one complete year of schooling at Pima Community College for one deserving Tucson high school graduate. Twelve months later, the Scholarship has been established, funds have been raised, a crazy Zombie Wash was let loose in Tucson, and Terrence Peel-Charles has been awarded the first ever Metro-Harkin Scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year.

For those of you who need a little reminding, the Metro-Harkin Scholarship is open to any graduating Tucson high school student. The aim of the Scholarship is to provide a higher education for hard-working and hard-studying individuals who might not otherwise have the means to attend college. The Scholarship was created by the owners of Metro Car Wash and Jeremy Harkin a high school English teacher.

So … for this blog, we thought we’d share a little from our upcoming press release with you. We’re proud to introduce you to Terrence, Metro’s first-ever Scholarship winner …

From the Press Release: Marana Student Wins Metro/Harkin Scholarship

Terrence Peel-Charles (18) is a recent graduate of Marana High School. He earned a 3.4 GPA, was active in Key Club, volunteered for various charity events including Aids Walk and the Special Olympics, and worked part time as an after-school Classified Enrichment Instructor. Perhaps most notably, Terrence received an opportunity his Junior Year to participate as a foreign exchange student in Germany. He didn’t know the language, had never taken a German class, and knew no one in the Country. Still, none of this stopped him from packing his bags, leaving the comforts of his family and friends, and heading to Europe for a year of his life – an intimidating scenario for anyone, but an experience that helped him grow significantly into adulthood.

“Living in Germany helped me learn things about myself I didn’t even know,” says Terrence. “The most difficult task in my life was to grasp the German language. I had to learn German at a very fast pace to survive at school. I got home from class, took out my homework and my German-to-English dictionary and translated the whole assignment for hours on end until I understood it.”

In addition to challenging him educationally, Terrence claims the experience has also made him “a more worldly person”, more aware of cultural differences (and how to navigate those barriers), and more understanding of what it means to be alone and have only yourself to depend on. These, in turn, have now shaped his goals for the future.

“I came back to America with something to prove to myself,” says Terrence. “I’ve learned there is really no challenge I can’t handle. I want to become a doctor, hopefully one that can travel abroad. And I’m not going to let any obstacles get in my way, financial or otherwise.”

Terrence is now planning to attend Pima Community College for two years before transferring to the University of Arizona. He is extremely grateful for the Metro-Harkin Scholarship, a program that will pay entirely for his first two semesters at Pima. In addition to his own education, Terrence also holds a part time job teaching children in an after-school program (holding a part time job during the academic year is a requirement of the Metro Scholarship).

“We had a lot of great applicants,” said one member of the committee that selected the recipient. “There were interesting stories, unique backgrounds – a bunch of deserving kids, really. The selection process was difficult, but in the end, Terrence was the clear winner.”

The Metro-Harkin Scholarship is funded by Metro Car Wash, as well as through donations they receive. Last year, the Company raised the lion’s share of the Fund by hosting Tucson’s first ever “Zombie Car Wash.” The charity event turned Metro’s Speedway location into a haunted theme-ride for one week in October and was met with rave reviews. The Company is planning on another Zombie Car Wash this fall; this time around Terrence will be helping.

Terrence’s selection as the Scholarship Winner was based on a committee’s cumulative score that was comprised of his grades, his scholastic attendance record, extracurricular participation, two essays, and a final interview. The Metro-Harkin Scholarship is open to all Tucson graduating high school students. Information and application instructions can be found at www.metrocarwash.com, www.metroscholarship.com, Pima Community College Foundation, or at either of the Metro Car Wash locations.

(Terrence Peel, 2011)

Metro's New Scholarship Program

Consider this a follow up to last week's blog. Last week I mentioned that we were going to be launching a Metro Scholarship for at least one graduating Tucson high school student per year. This week, I thought it would be good to follow that up with a post from our upcoming press release on our one-of-a-kind fundraiser for the cause: Metro's Zombie Car Wash.

The press release is below. If you are a graduating high school student, are the parent of one, or just know one, be sure to pass this information along. We're really excited about this.

Haunted Car Wash promises thrills … and a scholarship

Haunted Houses are so yesterday. In today’s world of multi-tasking, why not get your car washed while you’re getting your Halloween haunting fix? At least that’s the idea local business Metro Car Wash has come up with in order raise money for their Metro/Harkin Scholarship Fund. They’re producing Metro’s Zombie Wash, which will be running on the five evenings leading up to Halloween from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the Company’s Speedway location.

The Company is utilizing over 40 volunteers to create a zombie-themed thrill ride. Patrons will remain in their cars, and as they are shuttled through the car wash (their vehicles receiving a professional cleaning), they’ll be treated to a veritable assault of ghastly zombies, the supposed result of a terrible government experiment gone wrong. Or something like that.

“A haunted car wash is something we’ve wanted to do for years,” said Sean Storer, co-owner of the Metro Car Washes in Tucson. “Now that we’re raising money for our Scholarship Fund, it seemed like the appropriate time to finally roll up our sleeves and make it happen.”

The scholarship is the Metro Car Wash/Harkin Scholarship, founded by the owners of Metro Car Wash, Sean Storer and Craig Celentano, and Jeremy Harkin, a high school English teacher at Sahuaro High School and Tucson’s 40 Under 40 Man of the Year (2009). Both Metro and Harkin have long been involved in the community and local charities. When Harkin, a Metro customer, and Storer began discussing their passion for education, they teamed up to form a unique Scholarship Program that will provide a minimum of one graduating high school student per year with the funding for at least one full year of tuition at Pima Community College.

“The extent to which the scholarship will reach,” said Harkin, “depends on the amount of money we raise. At a minimum, we will fund one student’s full-time course load for a full year. If we raise additional funds, then we’ll be looking at additional scholarships. We’ll also be looking at funding a second year of tuition for those scholarship recipients that do well in their first year at Pima.”

Application for the Metro Car Wash/Harkin Scholarship is open to all Tucson graduating high school students. Information and application instructions can be found at www.metrocarwash.com, www.metroscholarship.com, Pima Community College Foundation, or at either of the Metro Car Wash locations. Information on the Scholarship will also be available at the Zombie Wash.

“Ultimately, we’re hoping this event is something we can do every year,” said Storer. “Our intent is to keep sending students (who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity) to college year after year. With that being the goal then, we’ve really put a lot of work into making sure this Zombie Wash is a hit.”

The Zombie Wash opens on Tuesday, October 26 at 7:00 PM at Metro’s Speedway facility (located at 5150 E. Speedway Blvd., between Swan and Craycroft). It will run nightly until 10:00 PM through Saturday the 30^th. The cost to ride through the wash is $10 per car (cash and credit cards accepted). From the safety of your vehicle, you’ll then be treated to a car wash, as well as a good-old, hair-raising zombie attack. In addition, there will be a live DJ, refreshments, costume contest, raffles, and more. Further information on Metro’s Zombie Wash can be found at www.metrocarwash.com, www.zombiewash.com, or by calling Metro Car Wash at 520-795-9600. Proceeds from the event will go to the Metro Car Wash/Harkin Scholarship Fund, which will begin sending students to Pima Community College in 2011.

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A Bad Economy, Charities, and A Haunted Car Wash

The economy stinks. Nothing more really needs to be written on this topic. If you don’t hear it every day in the news, all you have to do is sit on a Metro Car Wash patio and listen to customers mutter about it (often with yours truly joining in). Just about every business owner I talk to these days is still down; it’s a scary time for most of us.

That being said, I think that in many ways it’s an even scarier time for charitable institutions. First, in tough economic times, demand often rises on charitable organizations. At the same time, funding and charitable giving declines. Moreover, charitable organizations can’t adapt to a challenging economy as quickly as for-profit businesses. A business can discount prices, or make an effort to offer more service; but charitable organizations, for the most part, are still relegated to waiting for our altruistic impetus to strike us. And let’s face it: with fewer dollars in our pockets, it’s a lot harder to feel philanthropic.

For any of you who know us well, you know Metro Car Wash has always had a fairly large focus on local charities. We do this for two reasons: first, we believe that it’s important to be involved in the community and second, it’s also a part of our marketing philosophy. But regardless of our efforts, we’ve noticed a significant decline in the use of our charitable programs … and our programs don’t cost a person anything (go to our Fundraising Page at www.metrocarwash.com to learn how charitable organizations can receive 15% of participating Metro Car Wash Sales).

We partner with over 20 Charitable Organizations in Tucson; unfortunately, activity related to almost all of them is down in comparison to our car counts. Since our car counts are down too, this means it’s a double whammy for these not-for-profits. You don’t need to be a bleeding heart to say this is concerning.

And of course, leave it to us to pick this time to launch a brand new charity—right into the teeth of our tight wallets. Yup, we’re picking now to begin raising money for our Pima Community College Scholarship. We’re going to be sending a minimum of one student per year, who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity, to a full year at Pima Community College. We’re very excited about this, but we also understand that tough economic times mean we’re going to have to get creative with our fundraising.

Creative we can do.

We've decided to pick this blog to be the official announcement for what we believe will be a very fun fundraiser. Coming this October, Metro Car Wash will be hosting a Haunted Car Wash at our Speedway location. That’s correct, folks: Tucson’s first haunted car wash … Metro’s Zombie Wash.

More information will be coming shortly to our website (and Facebook and Twitter), but I wanted to take this opportunity to let you in on our plans. For the five evenings before Halloween, Metro Car Wash will be host to zombies, terror, and mayhem (from 7pm to 10pm). If wallets are tight (and of course they are), then we want to give as much value back to you as we can for helping us raise money for this scholarship. This Halloween, we figure if we can scare you and clean your car at the same time, you won’t even miss those few dollars. And if you do think about them (the missing dollars), then feel good knowing they went to help put a student through one year of college.

Times are tough. But we’re not ready to give up. We hope you’re not either. And you can really help us by giving Metro’s Zombie Wash a little promotion. As we get closer to the date, Metro would really appreciate your spreading the word. More information to come.

And until then, stay clean my friends!

DJ DripDry