2015 Subaru Impreza Earns a Spot on Kelley Blue Book's 10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000 List

Every year Kelley Blue Book (KBB) posts a slew of awards for a variety of vehicles, one of which is the 10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000. The 2015 Subaru Impreza made it onto this year's list, with extra points for its stellar cold-weather performance.

"The only vehicle on this list to include all-wheel drive as standard equipment -- and one of our 10 Best All-Wheel-Drive Cars Under $25,000 -- Subaru's compact car gets even cooler as it gets colder," wrote KBB.

We wouldn't want to be the ones to say that summer doesn't last too long in our beautiful, Northern state, but we will say that we love to have a car that's great in the snow. And one that's one of the "coolest"?  Definitely does not hurt! Shop online for your very cool Subaru Impreza here.


All information via Kelley Blue Book, image via Subaru

Deadline for Drive for Excellence Entries Fast Approaching

The Drive for Excellence deadline is coming up soon! Check out our press release below for more important dates and information on entering:

Burlington, Vt. -- Burlington Subaru Hyundai's eighth annual Drive for Excellence program is in full swing and nearing its entry deadline. This program is designed to inspire high school juniors and seniors to achieve commendable grades throughout the school year in the hopes of being selected as a finalist and earning the chance to win a brand-new 2015 Subaru Impreza or Hyundai Elantra.

The entry deadline is fast approaching with just over two weeks left until students must have completed a registration, Burlington Subaru Hyundai will stop taking applicants on April 24, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. After that registered students have until May 1, 2015 by the end of business hours to submit their final report cards.

Of the registered students, 75 finalists will be randomly selected and invited to the Drive for Excellence event that will be held at Burlington Subaru on May 16, 2015 at 10 a.m. Entries for the annual raffle are weighed based on grade performance; students receive two entries for each A and one for each B. The better the student's grades, the better the odds are of winning a new car.

Burlington Subaru Hyundai and NBT Bank will also be raffling off a limited amount of $1,000 scholarships at the event.

This is the eighth year of the program, with winners and participants coming from all over Vermont and Northern New York. For more information or to submit an entry form online, please visit www.BurlingtonCars.com/drive-for-excellence.htm.

A Note from the Humane Society of Chittenden County

Our General Manager Steve Kelson received such a nice thank-you letter from the Humane Society of Chittenden County, and we wanted to share it to show both our appreciation and our support for such an amazing organization.

"Dear Steve,

Suzie Q. - find the link to her bio here!

Thanks to you, Suzie Q., a cat that has been with us for more than 15 months is ready for her forever home. Suzie Q. came to us after months of being abandoned, her arm caught in her collar in such a way it had embedded her armpit, requiring 5 surgeries and more than a year of healing.

Thank you so much for your generous gift of $1,300 to the Humane Society of Chittenden County. Your willingness to help animals in crisis makes all the difference to Suzie Q. and others like her. Thanks to you, the 1000 animals that have been abandoned, lost, neglected, unwanted or relinquished by a family who can no longer care for them will find safe, loving, forever homes.

We simply could not do the work we do without you. On October 1st we launched our year-end fundraising effort with a goal of $175,000. We still need $57,000 to reach that goal, and thanks to supporters like you we believe we can get there.

Thank you again,

Sincerely,
Nancy Cathcart
President/CEO"

Join us and help support the Humane Society of Chittenden County! Every little bit helps. Click here to  see what pets they have up for adoption, or click here to make a donation.

Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf's Community Kitchen Academy

One of the amazing programs offered at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is their Community Kitchen Academy, which offers unemployed or underemployed Vermonts the opportunity to learn vital kitchen and cooking skills that help them to obtain sustainable careers in the food service industry. Learn more about the Kitchen Academy via CEFS below:

"Each 13-week session of Community Kitchen Academy contains 10-12 students. To prepare these students with the culinary skills necessary to secure jobs in the food service industry, the professional Chef Instructor, James Consentino, delivers a proven curriculum that was developed by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Students learn about safe kitchen practices—including safe knife handling, preventing cuts, burns, and handling accidents and fires, and managing food allergies—and a variety of skills such as knife sharpening, knife and equipment identification, food safety practices, various cooking methods, food receiving and storage, and the preparation of nutritious recipes and appropriate portion sizes.

Students will also undergo ServSafe training—a nationally recognized certification program essential to safety in food production and storage. In addition to ServSafe certification, Community Kitchen Academy is an accredited program that allows students to earn nine college-level credits upon completion.

The combination of this specialized culinary skills training and the work readiness training provided through the integrated life skills program ensure that upon graduation, students will be certified professionals who are ready and qualified to gain employment in the food service industry.

In addition to job training, Community Kitchen Academy performs another function, rescuing produce, meat and other foods that would otherwise be wasted from restaurants, farms and food service companies. Students work with instructors to cook the food and produce meals that are then cryovac sealed and sent out through the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf Soup Kitchen and Food Shelf.

For more information about Community Kitchen Academy or to request a paper copy of an application, please contact James Consentino at jconsentino@cvoeo.org."


All information and images via CEFS

Holiday Shopping on Amazon? Here's Another Way to Share the Love!

If you, like many holiday shoppers, are doing some (or all!) of your holiday shopping on Amazon this year, consider checking our their AmazonSmile site. AmazonSmile has the same products, prices, shipping, everything you're accustomed to on Amazon, but they donate 0.5% of the price to the charitable organization of your choice.

Type in either name to be brought to CVOEO on AmazonSmile

The best part? The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) is on the list, and they are located right here in Burlington, Vermont. As you may know, we've teamed up with the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf (CEFS) for our annual Share the Love event this year, and CEFS is a program within CVOEO, so we love the AmazonSmile option even more!

A donation of 0.5% may sound like a small amount, but think of how many products are purchased on Amazon, especially during the holiday season! So if you're shopping on Amazon this year, take a look at AmazonSmile. And swing by our website to see how we plan to raise $40,000 this year for the Chitttenden Emergency Food Shelf here.


All information and image via AmazonSmile

More Ways to Help? Food Drives for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf

So far we have raised $14,775 for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf (CEFS) as part of our annual Share the Love event! Help us reach our goal of $40,000 before January 2, 2015.

Looking for another way to help out the Food Shelf? Try holding a food drive! If you're interested in doing so, CEFS has a downloadable guide on holding successful food drives that comes with signs and a list of ideal items as well.

CEFS asks that you please bring all food donations to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf warehouse in the back of the building, and that you should feel free to contact them at (802) 658-7939 for more information.

Not sure how to hold a food drive? Check out CEFS' Food and Fund Drive Tool Kit for loads of information on how to hold your event; and please make sure to fill out the Food and Fund Drive Registration Form to let them know that you're hosting one.

All info and image via CEFS

2015 Subaru Impreza Earns an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ Accolade

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded the 2015 Subaru Impreza with an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK accolade, which becomes a TOP SAFETY PICK+ honor when equipped with the optional EyeSight Driver Assist Technology.

The 2015 Impreza earned the highest rating given out by the IIHS, including a 'Superior' rating in the front crash avoidance testing. Seven Subaru models have now achieved the honor; the Legacy, Outback, Forester, BRZ, WRX/STI and XV Crosstrek all have 2014 TOP SAFETY PICK accolades, four of which have earned a TOP SAFETY PICK+.

Subaru has more 2014 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK awards than any other manufacturer, showing exemplary safety measures worthy of the brand. Be sure to take a look at our 2015 Impreza inventory, or our other award-winning new Subaru models here!


All information and images via Subaru