Anyone with – or without – a Saturn in their driveway is welcome to help Saturn owners and retailers help their community on September 9 and 10.
As many as 60,000 Saturn owners, members of the 64 retail teams, and general volunteers are expected to take part in programs that benefit communities all across Canada that weekend as part of Saturn Reunion 2000.
Originally, the Saturn Reunion was sponsored by the company's General Motors parent in Oshawa, and Saturn owners and their families were invited to a drive-in movie with free refreshments and things like that. Over the years, the event has morphed into an event that allows members of Saturn's extended family "to enrich the quality of life for the members of their communities, especially the children."
According to Eric LeBlanc, advertising and promotion manager for Saturn Canada, the goal of the "party with a heart is to make a lasting contribution to the local areas where Saturn operates."
For example, LeBlanc says, Saturn retailers and their customers have in recent years built or renovated more than 100 playgrounds under the Saturn Reunion banner. This year, 37 playgrounds will be built or expanded, and there'll be community goodwill projects ranging from supporting children's hospitals and daycare centres, to aiding the local zoo, to renovating the waiting room at a local hospital, to sponsoring local youth sports teams.