Rawhide Celebrates 25 Years of Vehicle Donations

With a huge shout of thanks to all of the Wisconsin Auto and Truck Dealers Association (WATDA) dealerships, Rawhide is proud to celebrate 25 years of vehicle donations this summer!

Back in 1983, Rawhide founder John Gillespie turned his plan to accept vehicle donations into a reality. With hopes of receiving a handful of cars each year to be fixed by the boys on the ranch and then sold, the Vehicle Program was born. In its first year the program took in 50 donations, surpassing what they had hoped for. Over the next five years donations continued to increase each year.

Then, in 1987, Bart Starr invited the WATDA to partner with Rawhide to increase the number of vehicle donations. By organizing a car drive and challenging each dealership to donate one vehicle to Rawhide the WATDA was able to help raise over $180,000 which was used to build a much-needed boys home — the WATDA Carriage House — which is still in use today. But the relationship didn’t end here … in addition to the funds raised, over 100 dealerships volunteered to serve as donor drop-off sites for people interested in donating a vehicle, boat or camper to Rawhide.

Today, well over 300 dealerships serve as donor drop-off locations for Rawhide, some of them from the original 100 that volunteered! Because of the generous support received from the WATDA and the individual dealerships, Rawhide now takes in between 6,000 and 7,000 donations annually and the sale of the donated vehicles provides a significant portion of Rawhide’s gross revenue each year. In addition to being a vital stream of income, the Vehicle Program provides valuable work experience to the boys on the ranch. Students are responsible for cleaning and detailing the cars before auction and they may also work along with staff to evaluate donation and make minor mechanical repairs.

Since its inception in 1983, Rawhide’s Vehicle Program has taken in over 150,000 vehicle, boat and RV donations from every state in the US except Hawaii. To help raise needed funds, donations are sold at auctions and boats, RVs and motorcycles are sold on eBay with buyers hailing from all areas of the world including Denmark, Egypt, Israel, and Sweden.

Rawhide’s Vehicle Program would not be what it is today without the generous support of WATDA President Gary Williams and the Wisconsin Auto and Truck Dealers Association. Thank you to all the dealerships that choose to support Rawhide and help change the lives of troubled boys in Wisconsin!

Photo Caption: “The Four Horsemen” This quartet of cowboys represents the start of the multi-million dollar Vehicle Program. From left to right are: Ron Boldt; 1987 Chairman of the WATDA; Jerry Long, 1987 WATDA Public Relations Committee Chair; Gary Williams, WATDA president; and Bart Starr, Rawhide co-founder.