When Holiday Automotive chose to fly the national flag of Ukraine to show solidarity with the people of the war-torn nation, the Fond du Lac car dealership drew attention
from passersby as well as their own team. The three flagpoles anchoring the corner of the Holiday Automotive campus at Highway 23 and Rolling Meadows Drive are currently flying the American flag, the Ukrainian flag, and a Wisconsin flag. The adjacent digital message center reads “WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE”. The same three flags adorn the entries of Holiday Ford and Holiday Mazda
on the same block. “Seeing the people of Ukraine rising up to defend their country and others fleeing their homes to escape the destruction in their communities, raising their nation’s flag just didn’t seem like enough. Our team wanted to more directly support the efforts to provide assistance to them in this dire time of need,” said Mike Shannon, Chairman. A group of employees identified Catholic Relief Services as a suitable conduit
for financial assistance and passed-the-hat amongst their 300+ team members. According to the Catholic Relief Services website, CRS and Caritas partners are on the ground across Ukraine and in bordering countries, providing safe shelter, hot meals, hygiene supplies, transport to safe areas, counseling support and more. The employees of Holiday Automotive along with the Mike Shannon Automotive Foundation, collectively donated $10,475 to CRS to aid the Ukrainian people. “Seeing this support from our team tells me there are a lot of people out there who want to help; they just don’t know how. Hopefully our donation will encourage other businesses and individuals to join in,” Shannon added. According to the CRS website, 92% of all donations to the BBB Accredited charity are utilized in direct aid.
