50 Frontline Heroes Gifted New Cars For Going Above & Beyond To Help During Pandemic: ‘Surreal’

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50 frontline workers across America are driving new cars home this month, after they were nominated as heroes in the 2020 Mazda Heroes program.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Mazda announced in October that it was giving away fifty new MX-5 Miata 100th Anniversary Special Edition models, with each car destined for people who “tirelessly dedicated themselves to their communities throughout 2020” through “selfless acts”. , creative thinking and contributions to the community. “

After receiving 1,000 inspiring nominations from around the country embodying the auto company’s “omotenashi” value, putting the needs of others first, they selected 50 heroes, including three from New York City, who recently picked up their cars. new at a dealership in Queens. (See the video below).

“This year has been full of challenges, and we wanted to build on our brand’s legacy of finding innovative ways to make people’s lives brighter,” said Mazda North America President Jeff Guyton.

Selected Mazda Heroes selflessly leveraged their personal skills and resources to care for those in need, from creating free grocery delivery services to partnering with local restaurants to provide free meals to healthcare workers, to a musician creating concerts. on the sidewalk for a community of seniors who’d stay indoors.

One of the winners, Jason Erdreich, used his skills as a shop teacher in Randoph, New Jersey, and his access to 3-D printers, to print 12,000 pieces of PPE for medical workers in dire need of equipment.

Triana Davis, a teacher in Byram, Mississippi, personally created and delivered personalized study plans to her students and produced special commemorative T-shirts, gift bags and custom engraved medals, after graduation ceremonies were canceled by the pandemic.

Christie Purviance, an ICU nurse in The Woodlands, Texas, worked grueling 15-hour shifts during the pandemic, but always treated her patients like family. He handed over photos of patients’ relatives who were unable to visit them and helped facilitate video calls with loved ones, all while leaving daily sticky notes of encouragement.

Another winner, Leandro de Araujo Pessoa of Lansing, Michigan, lost his job after the shutdown in March, but ended up using all of his overtime to become the leader of a food pantry run by a local church. She devoted her time and a portion of her unemployment checks to the food pantry to keep it stocked with all the necessary items.

Mazda hopes that by recognizing their accomplishments, these 50 heroes will feel empowered to continue giving back to those around them.

WATCH the winners picking up cars in New York …