INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Indian River County youth football programs got a big boost Thursday evening from the Linus Automotive Group that totaled more than $10,000 and plenty of other supplies.
Jim Linus, owner of the group, presented the Indian River Recreation Department with a new GMC Terrain SUV on Thursday at Vero Beach High School.
Two-thousand raffle tickets at $5 each will be offered for the SUV and are expected to raise $10,000. The tickets will be sold at the department’s youth football games.
In addition to the SUV, Linus also gave Mike Redstone, of the recreation department, a check for $500 for other incidentals.
“That’s to help buy whatever the kids need,” said Vince Perez, the automotive group’s general manager.
The dealership also provided equipment bags, Gatorade, T-shirts, 10-yard line markers, and cheerleaders’ uniforms, Perez said.
“All the money from the raffle goes to the Indian River Recreation Department,” he said.
Perez also said that if someone buys a ticket but doesn’t win, they can get either a free oil change or a $25 credit for other service work at the dealership by showing their ticket stub.
“Times are tough,” he said. “We wanted to give something to the person who’s taking a chance and buying a $5 ticket. The odds, too, are pretty good.”
