Fuccillo Kia donates $100,000 to Harry Chapin Food Bank
Fuccillo Automotive Group surprised the Harry Chapin Food Bank with a $100,000 donation Tuesday night to help fight hunger.
“We made everyone happy last night,” said Billy Fuccillo, CEO of the Fuccillo Automotive Group.
The donation was made because they knew the food bank was short of hitting its goal, he said.
“I read a couple of articles pertaining to children. When I think about a child not being able to eat and so many kids homeless, it doesn’t set so good with me. It was a proper time to make a donation,” Fuccillo said. “It makes me feel really good. It’s a necessity. I think about children in a time of being helpless.”
The $100,000 donation helped push the Harry Chapin Food Bank exceed its fundraising goal of $300,000 for the 11th annual WINK Feeds Families Hunger Walk. The walk was held at Miromar Outlets on Saturday, Jan. 19.
The donation will help the food bank provide nearly 28,000 individuals and families it serves from Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties each week. For each $1 donated, the food bank can distribute $8 worth of food and grocery items.
Twenty-four million pounds of food, valued at $41.5 million, was provided during the fiscal year 2017-2018, to more than 150 partner agencies. Approximately 20 million meals were provided for people in need.
Fuccillo said he was told that the $100,000 donation would allow the food bank to buy $800,000 in food, which he described as “tremendous.”
“That really made me feel good. I love to give back to the community that we do business in, especially the community that supports us like Cape Coral,” he said of having the Kia dealership in Cape Coral for seven years. “It’s a win-win situation for the community and for us.”
The donation also comes at a time when people are hurting due to the government being shut down, Fuccillo said.
“I know the food bank is helping the people that are working for the government and are not getting paid,” he said.