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Vehicles & Violins – 21 Years of Giving

Currently in its 68th year, the Calgary Motor Dealers Association (CMDA) has a long history of involvement with charitable organizations in the City of Calgary. Together with our Dealer Members and valued partners, we have raised millions of dollars to support worthwhile charitable causes.
The CMDCF mission states “the Calgary Motor Dealers Charitable Foundation is committed to providing Calgary and area charities and educational institutions the opportunity to enhance the community on behalf of the Calgary Motor Dealers Association and its Dealer Members”.
The 2020 Vehicles & Violins Gala is our 21st annual staging of this event and for 2020 we are thrilled to partner with Discovery House, a highly-deserving charity, to benefit from proceeds of this event.
Since our first Gala in the year 2000, we have raised more than $4 million for charity! This money has been shared by:

  • Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
  • Alberta Cancer Foundation
  • Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation
  • ALS Society of Alberta
  • Alzheimer Society of Calgary
  • Calgary Meals on Wheels
  • Calgary Prostate Cancer Foundation
  • Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
  • Canadian Cancer Society, Volunteer Driver Program
  • Canadian Diabetes Association
  • Children’s Cottage Society
  • CMDA Entrance Endowment Fund at SAIT Polytechnic
  • Fresh Start Recovery Centre
  • Hospice Calgary
  • Inn from the Cold Society
  • Kids Help Phone
  • KidSport Calgary
  • Make- A-Wish Southern Alberta Canada
  • Parkinson’s Society of Southern Alberta
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities
  • The Alex
  • The Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre
  • The Heartstrings Program of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
  • The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, NWT and Nunavut
  • The Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta
  • The Missing Children Society of Canada
  • The Mustard Seed
  • The Prostate Cancer Institute of Calgary

We are extremely proud to work with our members, sponsors, charities and patrons in this highly successful and ongoing endeavor to support incredibly worthwhile and deserving charities in our community.

About Discovery House

Discovery House is about hope. From the moment a woman and her children walk through our yellow door, their lives are changed.

Since opening our doors in 1980 as Calgary’s first second-stage shelter, Discovery House has helped thousands of women and children fleeing domestic violence.

As a housing-first agency, we respond to the urgent and immediate needs of vulnerable women and children by facilitating longer-term, safe places for them to call home as they begin to rebuild their lives. While in our care – either in our secure shelter or in the community – each woman and child is supported by a case manager, mental-health specialist, child and youth worker and housing liaison. Counselling, wellness programs, financial literacy classes and
education assistance help them gain independence as they overcome trauma.

We prevent future instances of domestic violence by offering innovative and evidence-based programming. Children exposed to violence at a young age are more likely to be perpetrators or victims of abuse later in life, but we are changing the trajectory of their lives for the better by addressing the impacts of trauma early on. Our Child Development Center promotes early learning, positive brain development and mother-child attachment. Our youth programming helps children learn coping skills, self-regulation, self-esteem and confidence. To ensure we’re offering the most effective interventions, we have partnered with researchers at Harvard and the University of Calgary to develop new childhood programming that could play a key role in preventing domestic violence.

Almost 10 years ago, our community recognized the extraordinary needs of families facing the unimaginable – losing a child – rallied together to build the beautiful facility that is Rotary Flames House. Today the House, located next door to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, is one of only six pediatric hospices in Canada and the only one in Alberta.

Each year, the team of specialists at the House helps more than 100 families of children with complex, life-limiting illness – providing them with the physical, emotional, social and spiritual care they require. In addition to offering support during a child’s end-of-life journey, Rotary Flames House provides much-needed respite care – a special kind of temporary relief for families with children whose serious illness requires complicated, round-the-clock care. Respite care enables these families to rest and recharge while knowing their child’s care continues uninterrupted – a gift many of them say is invaluable. Community funding ensure that whether measured in years, months, weeks or days; Rotary Flames House can help make the most of every child’s life.