Bridgestone Retail Operations, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, delivered the 100th passenger van of its Driving Great Futures program with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) on Oct. 27 in Austin, Texas. The van is part of a batch of 10 vehicles for clubs in eight U.S. states that takes the company past 100 vans donated since 2015, according to its announcement.
The donation coincides with the 100th anniversary of Firestone Complete Auto Care, the company’s chain of service centers. The vans will carry children and teens to and from their clubs and to field trips, college tours and other enrichment activities. Bridgestone will also maintain the vehicles at its stores.
The 2026 recipients
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area — Austin, Texas (the 100th van)
- Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows — Reno, Nevada
- Boys & Girls Club of Lynn — Lynn, Massachusetts
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Topeka — Topeka, Kansas
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove — Garden Grove, California
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin — Santa Rosa, California
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Texas — Greenville, Texas
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County — West Bend, Wisconsin
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany — Albany, Georgia
A decade-long program
Bridgestone launched Driving Great Futures with BGCA in 2015. The program is funded by donations collected at the company’s stores and, beyond transportation, has paid for computers and mobile hotspots for in-person programs and virtual learning. Clubs receive the vans through an application process. In total, Bridgestone has contributed more than $30 million to the organization since then, a figure BGCA also reports.
Marko Ibrahim, president of Bridgestone Retail Operations, thanked the staff and patrons for this achievement, noting that transportation provides numerous youths with access to the clubs’ facilities.
Jim Clark, president and CEO of BGCA, said reliable transportation connects young people with mentors and safe places. According to the organization, 97% of club kids and teens expect to graduate from high school.
BGCA notes that its roughly 5,500 clubs reach upwards of 4 million youth throughout the United States and at American military bases overseas.
