This past October, technicians at all 89 Oil Can Henry's quick oil change centers traded their distinctive black Gatsby caps for camouflage caps to honor military personnel and recognize the significant sacrifices they and their families make to ensure our freedoms and protect people throughout the world.
The camouflage caps were part of Oil Can Henry's Be a Star to Military Families, a special month-long event benefitting the National Military Family Association (NMFA). Two days before Veterans Day, Oil Can Henry’s presented a $91,000 donation to the NMFA to support its work to strengthen and protect military families.
Lieutenant Dan Miner, an Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, whose daughter attended the NMFA's Operation Purple summer camps when he was deployed, represented military families across the globe as he accepted the oversize check at an Oil Can Henry's center in N.E. Portland.
Miner – whose daughter benefitted from NMFA camps as a child, worked at camps as a counselor and now serves in the Army National Guard – offered insight to the challenges and stresses military families face.
Simmone Quesnell, who oversees camps for children of deployed military personnel as NMFA’s Operation Purple West Program Manager, explained that the donated funds will enable the NMFA to support military personnel and their families in a number of ways, including providing services for soldiers injured in combat, providing counseling for families following deployment of a loved one and hosting children of deployed personnel at summer camps.
Oil Can Henry’s raised the $91,000 as all 89 of the locally owned company’s centers donated $1.00 for each vehicle they serviced October 1-31. Oil Can Henry’s also donated $1.00 for each new follower in October on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Oil Can Henry's and its customers donated $71,000 to the NMFA in 2014.
"All of us at Oil Can Henry's are excited to thank the military families who sacrifice so much to ensure our freedoms," said Chris Shepanek, Chief Executive Officer of Oil Can Henry's. "We're committed to improving the quality of life for people in the communities we serve and are proud to donate $91,000 to support the National Military Family Association and its wonderful work."
