What started as an opportunity for NHS volunteer hours and a passion project of the senior founders of Cars for Cause, Mahi Chandrakumar, Julien Riveria, and Kyle Shopkin, has blossomed into a valued community event open to car enthusiasts and beyond.
The organization hosted its first event in the spring of 2024 and hosted its second event in the PAC lot on May 4th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free and open to all; however, there is a $10 fee for those who want to register their car in the show. Those proceeds and donations will go to the Wounded Warriors Project.
“Last year, we [fundraised] for Lurie Children’s Hospital; we raised around a little under $3,000. Wounded Warriors is also similar to Lurie’s; they’re a big charitable event, and they’re [well] known, especially as we reach out to people they will recognize the charity, and they will [think] ‘Oh, I’m a huge supporter of that [organization]. I’ll bring some groups and some friends, and obviously, it’s going to a good cause,” Riviera said.
Since last year, the organization has raised even more awareness and hype regarding the event. There will be cars from well-known organizations such as LowEnd Garage, Ferrari Club of America, Cargellin, and more.
“[Mahi and I] both love cars and go to car shows every week, and we were like, why not host one ourselves?” Riviera said.
This year, the organization gained more hype regarding the event and raised over the amount from last year and hosted more cars.
“There are a lot of obstacles that come with planning a big event, especially at a school setting. There’s a lot more stipulation that you have to worry about when you’re planning something at a school, but I think that you have to reach out to the right people,” Chandrakumar said.
The founders emphasize the importance of building connections with individuals who can assist in planning such a big event. For example, Dr. Lambert played an important role in approving and supporting them through the sometimes stressful planning process.
“We work with Dr. Lambert pretty closely, and his help has secured the school as an event spot. Hopefully, [he will help us to host events] during the summer for future shows as we tend to graduate,” Chandrakumar said. “Planning starts in the fall, we get sponsorships, as well as food trucks, and that towards the winter, culminating to like the launch of the spring. […] So there are a lot of things that we do to push the event out before the actual day.”
Beyond these many challenges, the payoff is worth it. Through establishing the connection with Dr. Lambert, they hope to host car shows even after high school.
“[Since] last year, we have definitely grown and established ourselves. This year, I feel much more confident,” Riviera said. “We know these groups are coming. We know certain people are coming. Some of the cars I already have signed up would have like been crazy for last year [and its] just the first few cars.”
