The Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) has organized a charitable foundation to assist dealership employees in the wake of Hurricane Michael.
FADA President Ted Smith said the organization, which is a 501(c)(3) organization, is called Florida Auto Dealers Charitable Fund (FADCF) and it was created to provide hurricane relief assistance for dealership employees.
"Not a dime of the money goes to structural damages," Smith told Mega Dealer News. "It's all there to help employees with temporary living expenses."
Smith said FADA is asking dealers across the state to make contributions to the fund to help those who were impacted by Hurricane Michael.
"We're asking our dealers in other areas of Florida to make contributions to the FADCF and we're asking dealers across the country to do the same thing because they can imagine what it must be like to be this devastated," Smith said. "Every single dollar will go to assist dealership employees by making contributions to them to get them back on their feet."
Some employees might have lost their homes because of the hurricane, Smith said.
"They might've been in some type of mobile housing that is now gone," he said. "The money that we collect will be used to do that."
Dealerships across the state are starting to make contributions, Smith said.
FADA was founded in 1920 and represents dealers with line make factories, promotes a competitive marketplace for consumers, works with media to educate the public and works with the state Legislature to promote legislation that will enhance the automobile industry, according to the FADA website.
FADA created the FADCF to assist Florida dealerships and their employees before, during and after natural disasters. The fund is focused on providing financial relief to dealership employees who suffer personal hardships because of disaster.
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