Oh deer! Collisions help the hungry
(Photo by MARY MALONE) Northwest Autobody donated $1,450 to the Bonner Community Food Bank following its annual November campaign, where $50 from each vehicle repaired after a collision with a wild animal was set aside to help the hungry. Pictured from left are Howard Shay, Mary Beth Childers and Linda Gibbs with the food bank; Eric Donenfeld, Kirk Dowd, Tim Greenwood, Jesse Hunt, Cory Donenfeld and Mike Umbaugh from Northwest Autobody; and Debbie Love, Dean Miller and Carol Warren with the food bank.
SANDPOINT — Deer hit their rutting season in November, which is also why more deer are hit by vehicles that month.
To bring awareness to that statistic, as well as help out the community, Northwest Autobody and Towing donated $50 for every wild animal collision repair done throughout the month of November to the Bonner Community Food Bank.
“I was born and raised in Sandpoint, so it is huge for me to help the community that helps me, that built my business, that has made me who I am,” said Cory Donenfeld, who co-owns Northwest Autobody with his brother, Eric Donenfeld. “It makes me feel good to give back to my community.”
This is Northwest Autobody’s third year of donating to the food bank from animal collision repairs. This year, 29 vehicles were repaired, totaling $1,450 to help the hungry. In 2016 and 2017, Northwest Autobody repaired 23 cars each year, coincidentally, for two donations of $1,150 to the food bank.
In its two locations, Sandpoint and Priest River, the food bank provides services to 900 area families, feeding more than 2,500 people each month. Debbie Love, food bank executive director said the funds donation from Northwest Autobody will help the food bank into the new year, through January when donations tend to decrease after the holidays.
“We appreciate local businesses like Northwest Autobody that are creative in their ways of giving,” Love said. “I think it is a wonderful program that they are doing.”
Cory Donenfeld said he and his brother enjoy being part of the community and members of organizations such as the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and the Sandpoint chapter of Business Network International. They also donate time and money toward a lot of nonprofits, he said.
Eric Donenfeld also emphasized their enjoyment in giving back to the community, adding that they encourage their employees to give back as well. It’s a “feel good” thing for them to help out, he said, echoing his brother’s sentiments.
“And it’s fun,” he said.
Northwest Autobody accounts manager, Cindy Worley-Bahret, said she has seen first-hand the commitment the brothers have to the community.
“They always want to give back,” she said. “And they want their customers to know that this in not just a business for them to make money — it is a business for the community.”
Cory and Eric Donenfeld’s father, Mel Donenfeld, opened Northwest Autobody in Sandpoint in 1976. In 2014 Northwest Autobody opened a second location in Ponderay. Northwest Autobody is a participant in the Sandpoint High School auto body program, providing opportunities for local students to learn the business and the industry.
“I love the fact that I can have a small-town feel with a state-of-the-art autobody shop,” Cory Donenfeld said.
The Donenfelds advertised during the month of November that they would donate $50 for each repair. Whether the customers had seen the advertisements or not, Cory Donenfeld said they knew by the time they left the shop that they were helping out the food bank by going to Northwest Autobody for their repairs, giving them a “sense of pride.” The brothers will be sending out thank you cards to all of those customers as well.
Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.