Fred Beans earns 2nd place in WMMR-Philabundance food drive contest

Fred Beans Family of Dealerships was awarded this year’s second-place corporate challenge slot in the December 5 food drive organized by 93.3FM WMMR radio’s Preston & Steve Show and its Camp Out for Hunger initiative that benefits Philabundance, the city-based food bank feeding Delaware Valley’s residents in need.

Between November 16 and December 4, customers and employees donated nearly two thousand pounds of food to the auto group’s initiative, which involved all Fred Beans locations in Boyertown, Devon, Flemington and West Chester as well as Doylestown.

The 42,495-pound total donation was made up by 41 thousand pounds purchased with funds from cash contributions and the Fred Beans Charitable Fund; this food was delivered by tractor trailer directly to Philabundance on December 3.

“This is our first year ever being involved with the Camp Out for Hunger,” said Chris Branchide, Fred Beans marketing director. “It was an incredible experience, coming down here to Philly and seeing the huge number of contributions and feeling the energy generated by the radio personalities and people they interviewed over the course of the event.”

Branchide, who was interviewed live by Preston and Steve; Virginia Krause, business development manager; Teresa Giampa, business development representative at Fred Beans Mitsubishi); and Dan Lynch, sales at Ford Doylestown, delivered nearly 2,000 pounds of food donations to the event in a 2015 Ford Transit Connect commercial van.

Local radio personalities Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison lived in an RV set up on a parking lot at sponsor Xfinity Live!, in the Sports Complex in South Philly, from December 1 through December 5 to raise funds, contributions of nonperishable food and awareness that there are hungry people in the Delaware Valley in need of food.

Preston & Steve’s Camp Out for Hunger 2014 collected 840,457 pounds of food – over 420 tons – and $110,518.27 in monetary donations for Philabundance.

Second place means a Fred Beans contingent will receive a private, catered, in-studio party during the Preston & Steve morning show. Other corporate challenge results:

• 1st place: Subaru of America with 360,059 lbs! (Winner of a live broadcast from Preston & Steve at their place of business)
• 3rd place: Wegman’s with 16,965 lbs! (Winner of a $10,000 advertising schedule on WMMR)
• Honorable Mention (4th largest donation by a business or group): Penn State Abington with 7,738 lbs! (NOTE: To correct an internal clerical error that caused Penn State Abington to be mistakenly announced as 3rd place. PSU-Abington will be awarded an in-studio get-together during an upcoming Preston & Steve Show.)