Dixon High School and Ron DuPratt Ford Team Up For Unique Fundraiser

Donating money to a worthy cause doesn’t get much simpler or inexpensive than this: Sit down, buckle up and take a test drive.

On Friday morning, Ron DuPratt Ford is teaming up with Dixon High School for a unique fundraising event to benefit the school’s Athletic Department. The car dealership will arrive at the school bright and early Friday with a fleet of cars. For every driver who takes a test drive, Ron DuPratt Ford will donate $20 to the school’s Athletic Department, one driver per household.

"We will have virtually all of our different models out there for the community to drive the cars and help raise money for the Dixon High School Athletics Department," said Bill Stephenson, commercial-fleet sales manager at Ron DuPratt.

For the past two years, the Dixon-based car dealership has been doing this fundraiser as a way to support the high school, Stephenson said.

"It's been a big success and the community comes out to support this," he said.

The first test drive begins at 7:30 a.m., and lasts until 6 p.m. The fundraiser is set for a maximum of 300 drivers, which will translate to $6,000 for the department according to Nick Girimonte, Dixon High School’s assistant principal and athletic director.

Ron DuPratt Ford will bring some of its most popular models out for the community to test drive including the 2011 Ford Explorer, Fiesta, 2012 Ford Focus and many others.

But Friday's event isn't about selling cars, Stephenson said, even though the car dealership has had some success with car sales because of interest generated during the test drive fundraiser.

Stephenson said it's about supporting Dixon High athletes.