Gunn Gives

Since the creation of the Gunn Family Foundation, we have donated millions of dollars to area charities. We know financial support is very important, but we wanted to do more than just write a check. We wanted to be able to offer in-person “boots on the ground” support for our community.

To that end, we launched our volunteer initiative, Top Gunns, a new part of the philanthropic project we call Gunn Gives.

Employees, representing all of our San Antonio dealerships and collision centers, volunteered at the San Antonio Food Bank, sorting grocery items that were given to needy families. We have sorted shoes and clothing for the homeless at Christian Assistance Ministries (CAM,) we’ve packed diapers at the Texas Diaper Bank and collected and boxed candy, stuffed Christmas stockings, and sorted hygiene items for Soldiers’ Angels “Treats for Troops” and “Go Camo Care Package Drive” initiatives.

We are so very proud of our employee volunteers and the positive impact they continue to have throughout our community, but also for the way each of them professionally represents The Gunn Auto Group as our brand ambassadors.

Our largest project to date was Operation Book Drop. Gunn Auto Group and KSAT-12 TV partnered to hold a book drive to provide gently read books, both paperback and hardbound, new homes with military service members serving our country throughout the world, as well as those recuperating in Veteran’s hospitals and living in VA homes.

San Antonio, known as “Military City USA,” has been home to a military presence for close to 300 years and has one of the nation’s largest active and retired military populations. San Antonians were encouraged to drop off books at Gunn Auto dealerships and collision centers in San Antonio and Denton, Texas.

The drive took place in April with the goal of collecting 3,000 books. Due to the overwhelming response, Gunn Gives volunteers sorted, boxed, and shipped 544 boxes weighing more than 12,000 pounds which equate to 25,000 books. These donations were shipped to Afghanistan, Canada, Iraq, Korea, Kuwait, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. Closer to home, books shipped to Travis AFB, Ft. Bliss, the 7-17 Air Cavalry Squadron, the 61st Quartermaster Battalion at Ft. Hood, and Travis Fisher House. Veteran medical centers, including John Pershing VAMC and Carl Vinson VAMC, received books. More books went to those serving on US aircraft carriers; the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Iwo Jima, to name a few.

In 2020 three military families, surrounded by friends and military supporters truly felt the love of the San Antonio automotive community and experienced a life-changing event – the gift of refurbished vehicles. This gift provides them independence, a way to get to work and medical appointments , and the ability to take care of their families – thanks to Gunn Collision and car donors financial services company USAA® and insurance carrier Allstate® along with the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides® partners AXALTA® Coating Systems, Dents & Dings, Finishmaster® and 1-800-Charity Cars.

Gunn Auto’s founder “Pop” Gunn served with the 13th Armored Division during World War II as a Lt. Colonel under General George S. Patton and was a Bronze Star recipient. His son, Curtis C. Gunn, Jr., was a Navy Lieutenant and Navigator and Operations Officer on the USS Joseph Boyd. Currently, the Gunn Automotive Group collectively employs more than 50 former servicemen and women, and reservists.

The recipients were selected by the Texas Chapter of Wish For Our Heroes, a nonprofit organization that helps our military, both active duty and veterans, to meet everyday needs such as food, clothing, and transportation.

Whether it’s sponsoring belt buckles kids at the Medina County Livestock Show, buying toys for Elf Louise, or donating face shields to the Frank Tejeda Veterans’ Home in Floresville, Gunn and our volunteer corps, Gunn Gives, is dedicated to supporting the communities where we live.

Here’s a sampling of the many incredible organizations Gunn Gives supported in 2020 and 2021.

CIVIC

• Boerne Chamber of Commerce

• City of Boerne Parks and Recreation

• City of Cibolo Parks and Recreation

• Garden Ridge Public Library

• Run4dylan

• Schertz, Cibolo, Selma Area Chamber of Commerce

• Schertz Parks and Recreation

EDUCATION

• Alamo Heights ISD

• Sandra Day O’connor High School

• South Texas Vocational Technical Institute

AGRICULTURE

• Kendall County Fair

• Kendall County Junior Livestock Show Wild Game Dinner

• Medina County Livestock Show

• Wade Busby Memorial, Supporting Youth Agriculture, FFA & 4H programs

MILITARY / FIRST RESPONDERS

• 100 Club OF Kendall County

• JBSA

• Operation Homefront

• Operation Paperback

• Randolph Air Force Base

• Soldiers’ Angels

• Frank Tejeda Veterans’ Home

PETS

• SNIPSA “Race for the Rescues”

CHILDREN

• Battle of Flower’s Association, San Antonio a Public High School Floats

• Charity Ball Association

• Elf Louise Christmas Project

• Kinetic Kids

• Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation

DIRECT SERVICE

• Hill Country Family Services

• Kronkosky Place, Boerne

• Louise Batz Patient Safety Foundation

• Mission Road Ministries

• United Way of San Antonio and Bexar Count