When you Share the Love…You Change Lives!

Amazing things can happen when two people simply come together to give and receive support and encouragement — or to simply carry the message that even though one of them is going through a dark time, they are not alone. 

Such was the beginning of an amazing friendship in 2017 between Brad Smicklas, who had just been diagnosed with tonsillar cancer, and Tarah Warren, a cancer survivor, who was asked to talk to Brad by a mutual friend. No one in Brad’s family had faced cancer–and he felt helpless and scared. 

“It really helped me to see a live, vibrant person who had fiercely fought her battle with cancer and won. And now she is helping others find the courage and faith to do the same through her non-profit Tenaciously Teal.”

Brad said he didn’t realize the full impact of Tarah’s organization until later when he was sitting in the chemo room starting his treatment, and someone delivered Care Packs to him and to everyone else in the room. “We all had big smiles on our faces and our hearts were lifted up. You could feel the love and gratitude in the room. It was truly amazing.”  

Brad, who is also the GM of Hudiburg Subaru, is now three years cancer free. He has paid it forward to help other cancer fighters by putting Tenaciously Teal in Subaru’s national “Share The Love” campaign. Each year Subaru selects 4 national charities and allows the dealer to select a local charity, and Brad chose Tenaciously Teal as one of the charities Hudiburg customers could select for the program.

Here’s how it works: When someone buys a Subaru from Hudiburg during the share the love event Subaru donates $250 and Hudiburg adds $50 for a $300 donation to the buyer’s favorite charity. The first year Tenaciously Teal received 65 percent of Hudiburg’s donations and 85 percent the second year for a total of $56,000 in  contributions. The programs starts over each November.

Last December, Hudiburg employees also shared their love by hosting a Care Pack Party at the dealership where they made a total of 250 Care Packs and are patiently waiting for the next chance they get to all be together again for another great packing party!

Subaru’s Share the Love program, now in it’s 12th year nationally, is on track to donate an amazing $170 million dollars to charity. 

Oh, BTW, did you know that Tarah Warren loves her Hudiburg Subaru and has driven Subarus for years?  She says they’re a dependable, all-wheel drive that will get you through any rain or snowstorm. “They keep going strong uphill and don’t quit. They’re kind of like our amazing cancer fighters!”