Bridgestone Retail Operations, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, delivered the 100th passenger van of its Driving Great Futures program with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) on Oct. 27 in Austin, Texas. The van is part of a batch of 10 vehicles for clubs in eight U.S. states that takes the company past 100 vans donated since 2015, according to its announcement.
The donation coincides with the 100th anniversary of Firestone Complete Auto Care, the company’s chain of service centers. The vans will carry children and teens to and from their clubs and to field trips, college tours and other enrichment activities. Bridgestone will also maintain the vehicles at its stores.
The 2026 recipients
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area — Austin, Texas (the 100th van)
- Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows — Reno, Nevada
- Boys & Girls Club of Lynn — Lynn, Massachusetts
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Topeka — Topeka, Kansas
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove — Garden Grove, California
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin — Santa Rosa, California
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Texas — Greenville, Texas
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County — West Bend, Wisconsin
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany — Albany, Georgia
A ten-year initiative
Bridgestone launched Driving Great Futures with BGCA back in 2015. Donations gathered across corporate retail locations finance the initiative, which has previously supplied computers and mobile hotspots for virtual learning and on-site activities, extending far beyond mere transportation. An application process determines which clubs receive the vans. Since the partnership began, the corporation has donated upwards of $30 million to the charity, an amount likewise confirmed by BGCA.
Marko Ibrahim, president of Bridgestone Retail Operations, thanked the staff and patrons for this achievement, noting that transportation provides numerous youths with access to the clubs’ facilities.
Jim Clark, president and CEO of BGCA, said reliable transportation connects young people with mentors and safe places. According to the organization, 97% of club kids and teens expect to graduate from high school.
BGCA says its nearly 5,500 clubs serve more than 4 million young people across the United States and at U.S. military installations abroad.
