CEAP News

The Alliance fo Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN), in cooperation with the Minnesota State Patrol, will hold its 15th annual Lights On For Safety event on October 3rd, 2009.

AASP-member technicians and automotive technical students will conduct a free inspection and replacement of most exterior vehicle light bulbs and headlamps. Troopers will also be on hand to answer traffic safety-related questions. Vehicle owners are encouraged to bring a cash or non-perishable food donation to support their local food shelves.

The event is scheduled to take place at eight sites around Minnesota:

Brooklyn Park - Hennepin Technical College
Burnsville - AAA
Duluth - MN DOT/State Patrol Headquarters
Mankato - South Central College
Minneapolis - Dunwoody College of Technology
Moorhead - Minnesota State Community & Technical College
St. Cloud - St. Cloud Technical College
White Bear Lake - Century College, East Campus

CEAP is one of the local food shelves supported by this event. They’ve participated for over seven years, and will once again be at the Hennepin Technical College site in Brooklyn Park accepting donations.

CEAP’s food shelves in Brooklyn Park and Blaine have given over 574,850 pounds of food to families so far this year. An increase of 45% when compared to this time last year. On average CEAP’s two pantries see over 1,000 families a month.

CEAP’s not the only organization who’s participated in Lights On For Safety for years. The Minnesota State Patrol has participated in the event for the past 11 years. Col. Mark Dunaski, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, says the program provides a valuable service to keep motorists safe. “The simple action of using your headlights drastically improves visibility for both the driver and other motorists,” says Dunaski. “It’s very important for motorists to have properly working headlights to better stand out in traffic, and as a result, keep themselves safer.”

Lights On For Safety, held in conjunction with the Car Care Council’s Fall Car Care Month, was developed by AASP-MN to improve vehicle safety. The event serves double duty by helping to alleviate hunger in our communities. Since its inception, Lights On For Safety volunteers have installed free bulbs in over 5,650 vehicles and collected $18,520 and nearly 21,000 pounds of food for pantries like CEAP. The sponsoring organizations have also awarded $45,000 in scholarship funds to technical college automotive students who participate in the event.

If you would like more information about Lights On For Safety or about AASP-MN please visit www.aaspmn.org.