It’s time to highlight some more great community work being undertaken by a vehicle manufacturer.
Andrew Kalogirou, Sales Manager Dandenong Kia, handing over the Kia fleet of support vehicles to the Rotary team.
Kia Motors Australia has provided logistics support to the 2012 Rotary Ride for Research which over the past 25 years has raised over $820,000 for Australian Rotary Health (ARH).
ARH is a major research grants fund and is the largest Australia-wide project undertaken by Rotary.
From 15 to 21 April 2012 around 40 riders embarked on a 990km journey from Melbourne through Ballarat, Heathcote, Bendigo, Murchison Seymour, Alexandria, Eltham and back to Melbourne to raise valuable funds for ARH.
Kia Motors Australia supplied five vehicles for the duration of the event to assist with logistics.
Two Sorentos, two Carnivals and one Kia Rio provided rider support to each of the four groups.
“The support Kia provides to the event each year is fantastic,” said ride coordinator and Boronia Rotarian Rod Henry.
The Support and Gear or SAG wagons as we call them, carry food, clothing and offer respite for riders who have simply run out of puff.
“The vehicles look fantastic. They draw crowds to the event when we stop and really add a professional look to the ride. They make it easier for us to source Support Crews when we tell them they’re going to be driving a brand new Kia for the week.”
“Most importantly they are very spacious and allow us to transport people, and on some occasions a bike, which certainly adds a safety element to their involvement.”
The 2012 Ride for Research event managed to raise another $30,000 for Australian Rotary Health.
Congratulations Kia Australia for lending a hand!
