The Kids Charities of the AV was founded in 2000 by Ron Emard. Ron is the Managing Partner at Robertson Palmdale Honda in Palmdale, California and Antelope Valley Harley Davidson in Lancaster, California. Ron is known for his untiring devotion to kids in need and has been actively involved as a private citizen and business leader since moving to the Antelope Valley in 1986.

It was because of the enormous success of the pre-existing Thunder event that the charity came into existence.  Up to that point in time all funds raised were delegated to the Children’s Center of the Antelope Valley for child abuse prevention. As large sums of donations were raised it quickly became apparent that it was time to spread out the dollars to more needy children, hence the birth of the Kids Charities of the AV.   

Kids Charities proudly supports numerous local charities that direct all of their funds towards assisting disadvantaged kids of our community. The Kids Charities of the AV does not typically operate as a direct-service provider. This is the role of the non-profit organizations they support. Rather, the fully developed Kids Charities has five primary functions:

Fundraising: to raise money and in-kind donations efficiently.

Community Service: to promote and coordinate volunteer support of service providers.

Fund Distribution: to distribute charitable funds to the most effective service providers.

Community Building: to build alliances among charities, businesses and other entities in support of the community.

Publicity:  to execute support through events, promotions and awareness campaigns

As the event has grown, so have the donations, with $3,000 collected the first year to an upwards of $336,000 collected at recent event’s. Since 1994, the Kids Charities of the Antelope Valley has collected over 3 million dollars, of that 2.6 million has been raised from Thunder on the Lot proceeds. All funds go directly to supporting the “Kids Charities of the Antelope Valley.”

The success of the Thunder is attributed to the collective efforts of many; Robertson’s Palmdale Honda employees, AV Harley-Davidson Employees, numerous local businesses, hundreds of volunteers and a supportive community truly making Thunder what it is today. It’s a genuine grass-roots event that is fully organized and operated without paid staff and enthusiastic volunteers.

Untiring commitment, dedication, money and support are the ingredients contributed by all of the committee members and volunteers. “If it weren’t for them Thunder simply wouldn’t exist,” says Ron Emard, founder of Thunder on the Lot.

The 2011 Kids Charities of the Antelope Valley include:

Each year Thunder on the Lot proudly focuses on assisting hundreds if not thousands of kids in the Antelope Valley. After sixteen years of contributions from the community, businesses and private citizens well over two million dollars has been raised to help these special children.

Mission Statement:
We will strive each year to make a positive difference in the lives of the kids who need it most. The disadvantages, the hardship and the challenge these kids face motivate us constantly to focus on fulfilling their needs. We will accomplish our goals through special events and public awareness campaigns. We take pride in knowing we have already made a difference and welcome the challenge to beat our future goals. The Kids Charities of the Antelope Valley will continue its mission to serve the innocent children of our community.

For more information contact:
Yvette Emard, Marketing & Publicity
455 Auto Vista Dr. Palmdale Ca, 93551
(661) 265-6069
www.kidscharitiesav.com

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