Corvette Club drives in donations for Food Bank

By Tessa Roy
Posted 9/13/16

Richard Nelson loves Corvettes. He is fittingly on the board of directors of the Corvette Club of Rhode Island, a club he’s been a member of since its infancy in 1964.

“We’re very proud of …

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Corvette Club drives in donations for Food Bank

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Richard Nelson loves Corvettes. He is fittingly on the board of directors of the Corvette Club of Rhode Island, a club he’s been a member of since its infancy in 1964.

“We’re very proud of the history,” he said. Since all the members love the same car, Nelson said they’re all family.

They like to share that love with Corvette novices as well – Nelson took this reporter for a spin in his blue 2002 model, pointing out the stunning hum of the engine and all the technological aspects inside the car that he loved.

However, they’re “not just a car club” says publicity director Liliana Dolan. They’re a group of 305 people who happen to both love the same car and being active members in their community.

This summer, members Ken Redman and Tony Montalbano orchestrated a bowl-a-thon to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The Cranston AMF Bowling Lanes offered a free game to anyone who donated canned goods or money to the cause. Club members visited to bowl or donate money themselves, but Redman bowled the whole day. He played for more than 12 hours – two more than his initial 10-hour goal.

“I never saw anyone do anything like that, so I thought I’d try it,” Redman said with a laugh.

The bowl-a-thon raised a total of $1,930 but after further donations, $6,354.96 and 1,893 pounds of food were given to the food bank. Altogether, the monetary and food donations equated more than 20,000 pounds of food.

Members of the Corvette Club visited the food bank on Thursday to present the donation. Food Bank communications director Hugh Minor said that though the amount of people the bank serves has decreased, donations are always more than welcome. The bank relies heavily on donations as the state only provides 3 percent of its funding. It still needs resources and to serve healthy foods to 59,000 people each month, many of who are children and seniors.

“Most of the people who come here are working folks who just can’t make ends meet,” Minor said.

The Food Bank isn’t the only organization the Corvette Club has helped. It’s raised money for the Scalabrini Villa Health Care Center, the Rhode Island Veteran’s Home, and more. Nelson said those won’t be the last.

“A lot of people say ‘oh, you own a Corvette so you walk around with your nose in the air,’” he said. “But it’s not like that. We like to give back.”

“That one little car brings a wonderful family of people together,” Dolan added.

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