KARS4KIDS
Background
Kars4Kids is a registered 501(c)3 operating in
the United States and Canada, and takes
donations of vehicles, accepting over 40,000
cars annually. [8]
In 2015 Kars4Kids reported revenue of $34.7
million and expenses of $30.8 million. [9]
Donations to Kars4Kids benefit the Oorah (Joy
for Our Youth, or J.O.Y.), a national organization
with a stated goal of addressing the
"educational, material, emotional and spiritual
needs of Jewish children and their families", [10]
and whose mission, according to CharityWatch ,
appears to be "to persuade secular Jewish
families to take on a more Orthodox Jewish
lifestyle." [5]
Work
Kars4Kids offers financial assistance to students
to help pay for private school tuition and GED
testing. [11] They also sponsor a youth program
known as Chillzone, an after-school program
teaching Jewish culture and moral values. [12]
Additionally, they sponsor the summer camp
TheZone, [13] which operates Jewish sleepaway
camps in the upper Catskill region of New York
State. [14] They also offer small grants to other
nonprofit organizations, [15] and in 2016
Kars4Kids awarded $5,000 to Girls on the Run
International. [16]
The organization hosts regular coat and clothing
giveaways for the needy nationwide, including in
Harlem, Washington, DC, and in Newark, New
Jersey where they held a give-away together with
Newark Mayor Cory Booker . [17][18]
Prior to the start of the 2012 school year, the
Chairman of the NYC Housing Authority in
partnership with Kars4Kids distributed school
supplies and backpacks to more than 3,000
children in Queens Housing projects. [19] Around
that same time period with New York City
Councilman James Vacca they distributed free
backpacks in the Bronx as part of a "back-to-
school initiative aimed at helping struggling
families with the rising expenses of school
supplies." [20] In Brooklyn, Congressman Ed
Towns and Kars 4 Kids distributed winter jackets
to underprivileged children, including at the
legendary Marcy Avenue Houses. [21]
The organization saw a boom in donated cars
following Hurricane Sandy, with owners donating
cars totaled by hurricane damage. [22] [23]
After being contacted by the NYPD per the
Moore family, the charity auctioned off a 2003
Ford Explorer in which two children drowned
after being swept from their mother's arms
during Hurricane Sandy. The auction proceeds
went to raise money for coats for the needy. [24]
Kars 4 Kids worked with United States
Representative Michael Grimm to distribute over
1,000 children’s coats and other assorted
clothing items to Staten Island residents affected
by the hurricane. [25]
In 2014, Kars4Kids released an app for Android,
Kars4Kids Safety, [26] which aims to prevent
accidental deaths of children by parents
forgetting them in their cars while the
temperature is hot. The app syncs with the car's
Bluetooth technology, to set off an automatic
alert when the phone’s Bluetooth disconnects
from the car’s. [27]
Kars4Kids also accepts donations of real
estate [28] and land donations. [29]
Jingle
Kars4Kids is well known for its jingle; [30] the
group's director of public relations stated that
the song was written in the late-1990's by a
volunteer, with music adapted from Country
Yossi 's song "Little Kinderlach". [31] The jingle
was first used in radio commercials broadcast in
the New York City area, by 2004 the ads began
to play in other markets such as Chicago, and
later nationally as part of radio network ad
time. [32] In 2014, Kars4Kids introduced a
television commercial featuring the jingle. [32]
The jingle has become the subject of public
ridicule, as critics have considered it to be an
annoyance; it was described by San Francisco
Chronicle journalist Peter Hartlaub as an "assault
on [the] senses". [33] On November 4, 2010, Don
Imus was caught on a hot mic mocking a
Kars4Kids ad during a commercial break of his
radio show Imus in the Morning, telling the group
to "go to hell" and jokingly blurting "I'll give you
my Bentley, you moron." [32][34] Imus later
apologized. [32][34] Vulture jokingly declared that
the television version of the ad would bring end
times. [32] In 2014, it was referenced in a
Saturday Night Live sketch parodying the talk
show Charlie Rose , wherein the co-developers of
the Central Intelligence Agency 's "enhanced
interrogation techniques " program claimed that
the agency's other methods included Time
Warner Cable customer service, TSA screenings ,
and the Kars4Kids jingle. [35][32][34] In
September 2016, the jingle was also referenced
during an episode of Last Week Tonight with
John Oliver , in which Oliver declared that the
Clinton Foundation had become "the only charity
that inspires more visceral anger" than
Kars4Kids. [36]
In September 2017, the New York Post
interviewed the children who starred in the
Kars4Kids TV commercial. [37]
Disclosure and
Effectiveness Concerns
The organization has been criticized for
inadequately disclosing its Jewish educational
work. [38][39] In 2009, Joy for Our Youth paid
$65,000 in fines in Pennsylvania; [40] while
Kars4Kids paid $65,000 in fines in Oregon [41]
in settlements reached with the respective state
attorneys general as a result of their contention
that the organization had to more clearly state
that the beneficiaries were of a "certain religious
affiliation." In Oregon, the attorney general added
that Kars4Kids failed to disclose that its offer of
a "free vacation" for vehicle donors was designed
to recruit people to attend timeshare
presentations. [41]
In 2017, the Minnesota Attorney General
conducted a compliance review and submitted a
300 page report to the IRS. The report found that
only 44% of funds raised by Kars4Kids went to
good works, and that the charity had invested in
a Ponzi scheme, in addition to losing $9.2
million from real estate projects controlled by
the second cousin of the Kars4Kids CEO. [42]
References
1. ^ "Oorah | Find out about our history, our
people, and our mission" . www.oorah.org .
Retrieved 2017-05-03.
2. ^ "Oorah.org - Tax exempt status" .
Retrieved 17 September 2014.
3. ^ "Kars4Kids Inc" . Retrieved 2016-03-23.
4. ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for
Kars4Kids" .
5. ^ a b "Catchy Jingle Not a Green Light to
Donate" . Retrieved 2015-08-25.
6. ^ "What is Kars for Kids – What Does
Kars4Kids Do?" . www.kars4kids.org . Retrieved
November 14, 2016.
7. ^ "Kars4Kids | Our Team" .
www.kars4kids.org . Retrieved 2017-07-19.
8. ^ "Insurance Undertow For Flood Car
Donations" . The NonProfit Times.
9. ^ "Nonprofit Report" . GuideStar USA.
Retrieved 2016-08-22.
10. ^ "Kars4kids - About our Charity" .
Kars4Kids. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
11. ^ "Kars4Kids | Choice in Education School
Grant" . www.kars4kidstuition.org . Retrieved
2017-02-27.
12. ^ "Our Sponsor: Kars4Kids | ChillZone" .
ChillZone . Retrieved 2017-03-22.
13. ^ "Kars for Kids and TheZone connection" .
www.thezone.org . Retrieved 2017-03-22.
14. ^ "Jewish Sleepaway Camps- TheZone" .
www.thezone.org . Retrieved 2017-03-22.
15. ^ "Kars For Kids Small Grant Program |
Kars4Kids Grants" . www.kars4kidsgrants.org .
Retrieved 2017-04-04.
16. ^ Desk, BWW News. "Kars4Kids Awards
$5,000 Grant To Girls On The Run
International" . Retrieved 2017-04-04.
17. ^ Kars-4-Kids Gives Away Coats in
Newark ; CBS; New York; retrieved March 2013.
18. ^ Kars...to Give-away 1000 Coats... ;
Goddard.org; retrieved March 2013. Archived
March 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
19. ^ NYCHA Chairman John Rhea, Council
Member Ruben Wills & Kars4Kids Host
Backpack Give-Away
20. ^ "Kars4Kids Partners with NYC Councilman
James Vacca for Back to School Backpack
Giveaway" .
21. ^ "Congressman Ed Towns Teams Up With
Kars4Kids For A Back To School Backpack
Giveaway" .
22. ^ "Kars4Kids Flooded with Hurricane Sandy
Car Donations" .
23. ^ PHOTOS: Kars4Kids Flooded with
Hurricane Sandy Car Donations |
LakewoodLocal Archived January 30, 2013,
at the Wayback Machine.
24. ^ "Tragic S.I. SUV going to Kars4Kids" .
25. ^ "Kars 4 Kids Teams To Donate Over 1,000
Children's Coats On Staten Island" .
26. ^ "Kars4Kids Safety - Android Apps on
Google Play" . play.google.com (in en_US).
Retrieved 2017-04-04.
27. ^ "Kars4Kids Releases Free App to Prevent
Parents from Unknowingly Leaving Children in
Hot Cars - Association for Early Learning
Leaders" . www.earlylearningleaders.org .
Retrieved 2017-04-04.
28. ^ "Kars4Kids Real Estate Donation | Donate
Real Estate to Charity" . www.kars4kids.org .
Retrieved 2017-07-24.
29. ^ "Donate Land to Charity | Kars4Kids" .
www.kars4kids.org . Retrieved 2017-07-24.
30. ^ "If the 'Kars for Kids' song gives you the
kreeps, you'll want to read this" . Chicago
Tribune . March 20, 2009.
31. ^ "A Brief History of the Inane Kars 4 Kids
Jingle You Can't Get Out of Your Head" .
Billboard . October 28, 2016.
32. ^ a b c d e f "1-877-KARS-4-KIDS: Behind
the Most Hated (and Best) Jingle of All Time" .
Noisey . Vice. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
33. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (February 3, 2011). "Great,
now my toddler is singing 1-877-KARS-4-
KIDS" . San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved
February 12, 2013.
34. ^ a b c "MORNING ROUNDUP: Don Imus
Apologizes for Telling Kids' Charity Singer to 'Go
to Hell' " . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved
25 August 2016.
35. ^ "CIA Torture Report Becomes 'SNL'
Comedy Fodder" . Deadline.com . Retrieved 25
August 2016.
36. ^ "John Oliver Breaks Down Every Scandal
Plaguing Clinton and Trump Ahead of Tonight's
Big Debate" . Mediaite. Retrieved 4 December
2016.
37. ^ "Kars 4 Kids stars can't get annoying jingle
out of their heads either" . New York Post .
2017-09-14. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
38. ^ Kars4Kids Steers Donors in the Wrong
Direction ; November 20, 2009 article; Daily
Finance ; retrieved February 2013.
39. ^ Answer Man: That little ditty about
donating your car can drive you crazy ,
Bellville-News-Democrat , March 1, 2013
40. ^ Nonprofits for Kids Accused of Misleading
Donors , January 30, 2009 article at "The
Pottstown, PA Mercury" ; retrieved 2/20/2013.
Archived July 12, 2014, at the Wayback
Machine.
41. ^ a b Charity Misled Donors, AG Says ;
April 15, 2009 article at Medford, Oregon "Mail
Tribune" ; retrieved 2/20/2013.
42. ^ Prather, Shannon. "Minnesota attorney
general finds that less than 1 percent of
donations to Kars4Kids charity goes to
Minnesota kids" . StarTribune.
External links
Kars4Kids website
Oorah Organizational website
Kars4Kids programs
Kars4Kids official blog
Kars4Kids pictures
KARS4KIDS ADS
DONATE A CAR TO CHARITY!!!
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
