Kia Canada to Provide National Transportation Support for Special Olympics Canada

Photo courtesy of Kia Motors & Special Olympics Canada

Kia Motors Canada has an exciting announcement to make! In addition to their ongoing support of Special Olympics Canada, Kia Canada is proud to announce the launch of a brand new, first-of-its-kind national transportation-based program. As the official automotive sponsor of Special Olympics Canada, Kia Canada has introduced the Kia Canada Special Olympics Mobility Program.

The reality is that often times, Special Olympic athletes and their families miss out on valuable programming because they don’t have access to reliable transportation to and from training, competitions and event. With the Kia Canada Special Olympics Mobility Program, the automobile manufacturer will help alleviate the challenge of reliable transportation for over 40,000 Special Olympic athletes as well as coaches, staff and volunteers across the country.

“Participating in sport is incredibly rewarding but can also be a demanding undertaking for athletes and their families,” says Michael Kopke, Director of Marketing, Kia Canada. “The travel required to attend training, games and tournaments can pose challenges for those without access to reliable transportation. That’s why Kia Canada is excited to launch the Kia Canada Special Olympics Mobility Program to serve Special Olympics Chapters nationwide. As the manufacturer of some of the industry’s highest-quality vehicles and a proud partner of Special Olympics Canada, we want to ensure that Kia helps get Special Olympics athletes, families, staff, coaches and volunteers where they need to be and that nobody gets left behind.”

Through its new Mobility Program, Kia Canada is generously providing funding for the rental of Kia vehicles by way of local Enterprise Rent-a-Car locations. These vehicles will be available to Special Olympics Chapters throughout Canada in all provinces, with the exception of Yukon and NWT.

“For Special Olympics Chapters, transportation can be a challenge on a daily basis,” says Glenn MacDonell, CEO Special Olympics Ontario. “Getting our coaches, volunteers and teams to and from training and competitions incurs a massive cost and logistical undertaking for local Chapters and their staff. The Kia Canada Special Olympics Mobility Program not only alleviates the challenge of facilitating reliable transportation for our athletes, coaches and volunteers, it also allows our Chapters to reallocate costs traditionally associated with transportation directly back into initiatives that benefit our Special Olympics athletes.”

Running from October through December of this year, the Kia Canada Special Olympics Mobility Program will offer 2,600 days’ worth of Kia vehicle rentals to be used by local Special Olympics Chapters throughout every province and territory in Canada.

To learn more about the initiative visit http://www.specialolympics.ca.

About Kia Canada Inc.
Kia Canada Inc., a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart, is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) which was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality, class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte, Optima and Sorento through a network of 189 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 154 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and four regional offices across Canada, including a state-of-the-art facility in Montreal. Kia’s brand slogan "The Power to Surprise" represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting & inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.