June 30, 2003
Bi-Fuel
CNG Van Donated Through AQMD/GM Public/Private Partnership
Eight youth from the Boys
and Girls Club of Santa Ana took their first-ever trip to Disneyland today
aboard a new “clean air van” donated by General Motors and the South Coast Air
Quality Management District, and fueled by Clean Energy.
A group of high profile
well-wishers, including Santa Ana City Council Member Jose Solorio, gathered at
the Boys and Girls Club at 950 W. Highland in Santa Ana to celebrate the gift.
Seven miles and a world
away for these children, the Disneyland outing is symbolic of the field trips
that are now possible as a result of this van.
“We are pleased to see this public-private
partnership, which will provide many of our youth with new opportunities such as
this wonderful outing to Disneyland” said Solorio, who also serves on the Boys
and Girls Club Board of Directors. “I want to personally thank General Motors,
William Craycraft of AQMD, and John Brewster of the Boys and Girls Club of Santa
Ana.”
Among the kids going to
Disneyland for the first time are:
- Jesus, 10, who wants to be a
firefighter;
- 10-year-old Cristian, who excels
in math and science and dreams of being a doctor;
- Joshua, 11, who looks forward to
joining the Marines;
- Yosajany, 10, who plans for a
career in law enforcement; and
- Ashley, 10, who gets A’s and B’s
at Pio Pico Elementary
School. She and her four siblings are being raised by a single mother.
“We hope this clean-air van
will teach these great kids an important lesson about environmental
responsibility,” said AQMD Board Member William Craycraft, who also serves on
the Mission Viejo City Council.
Ken Stewart, GM’s marketing
director of new ventures said, “GM’s clean-air partnership with the AQMD is a
great example of the collaboration needed to facilitate the use of automotive
technologies in ways that improve the lives of those in our local communities.
“The Boys and Girls Club of
Santa Ana is enabling some of these local children to visit Southern
California’s greatest attractions for the first time, and we are pleased GM’s
alternative fuel technologies will be used to safely take them to these great
places with even less impact on their local environment.”
Wondries Chevrolet of
Alhambra facilitated delivery of the 10-passenger 2003 Chevrolet Express 2500
bi-fuel van. The vehicle has two separate fueling systems and can be driven on
either gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG). When driven on CNG, the van
can reduce smog-forming emissions.
Clean Energy (www.cleanenergyfuels.com)
of Seal Beach, America’s largest provider of vehicular natural gas, donated CNG
fuel to run the van year-round. Refueling with CNG will be convenient for the
Boys and Girls Club as there are four CNG filling stations in and around Santa
Ana.
“We wanted to do our part
to help clean the air in Southern California and support the tremendous work of
the Boys and Girls Club,” said Barbara Johnson of Clean Energy.
Through its Community Clean
Air Partnership with the AQMD, GM has undertaken a number of initiatives to help
clean the air in Southern California in the last few years, including helping
retrofit school buses to sharply reduce diesel exhaust emissions and improve the
health of school children. GM previously has donated a half-dozen bi-fuel
natural gas vans to charitable organizations across the Southland, and is
expected to donate two additional vans to worthwhile Southern California
non-profits in the near future.
AQMD is the air pollution
control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San
Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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