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Bramgate Automotive Inc. sponsors massive gift card program in support of Brampton restaurants

Bramgate Automotive Inc. sponsors massive gift card program in support of Brampton restaurants

February 18 2022

When Brad and Bill Jr. Johnston were kids growing up in Brampton, they played on the Bramgate Volkswagen Rabbits hockey and baseball teams, which were sponsored by their father’s company, Bramgate Automotive Inc. Today, as co-owners of the business, the brothers continue the legacy of giving back to the community, including sponsorship of the largest gift card program in Ontario to help support local restaurants, which have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spearheaded by The Brampton Guardian and The Mississauga News, with the help of community “Champions of the Cause” such as Bramgate Automotive Inc., thousands of dollars of gift certificates have been purchased from small to mid-sized family-owned restaurants to be distributed in the community.

“We’ve been doing business in Brampton for 55 years next month and have had opportunities like this to give back to charitable causes,” says Brad Johnston, general manager of Audi Brampton. “During this pandemic, our local family-owned restaurants took a major hit. They are so important to our community. We were fortunate to be able to stay open and operate safely throughout most of the pandemic, and we wanted to support those who were not able to stay open.”

This past Christmas, the Bramgate Automotive family sponsored the Virtual Visits with Santa program, another Brampton Guardian/Mississauga News initiative whereby children in Peel Region could visit Santa virtually on a Zoom call and even have their photo taken with Santa free of charge.

“It makes us feel very satisfied to give back to our local communities,” says Bill Johnston Jr., general manager of Bramgate Volkswagen. “We try to keep the majority of our charitable donations going toward Brampton and Mississauga as these are the communities that have supported us over the years. That includes everything from our donation plan with the local hospitals, the Virtual Visits with Santa and at Christmas when we do a food collection and a toy drive. And it’s much bigger than us — it’s our entire dealership and our team members who organize many of these efforts, especially the food and toy drives. We have five locations plus a body shop and approximately 230 employees who are so much a part of the culture of wanting to support our community. As a community, Brampton is growing so much but we still have a community feel and that means helping each other.”

Audi Brampton and Bramgate Volkswagen have a long history of giving back to the community. “The hospital plan where we donate $50 per every car sold was my father’s idea,” says Brad. “He brought the idea to my brother and I, and we loved it and ran with it. The Brampton dealerships contribute toward William Osler Health System while the Mississauga dealerships contribute to the Trillium Health Partners. He passed away in October of 2020 and we started that program a few years before that.”

Bill adds: “Our father got sick during all of this and spent some time in the hospital, including undergoing different procedures, and sitting there seeing all of the people who are dealing with illness, and watching the staff deal with COVID, it just really gives you such a positive feeling knowing you are donating to people who are truly deserving. Giving back — it’s a really, really nice feeling to be able to help others.”

Bill Sr. founded the company in 1967. What started in 1967 as a small Volkswagen dealership in Brampton has expanded to include five locations in Brampton and Mississauga with three Audi dealerships and two Volkswagen locations, plus Bramgate Collision Centre. The dealership group is the longest standing, family-owned automotive group in Brampton.