NTN Answers the Call to Help Local Animal Rescue in Need

NTN Bearing Corporation of America is proud to share its story of support for a local animal rescue. On Thursday, November 16th, NTN donated a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van with its cargo hold full of supplies to Wright-Way Rescue, but it didn’t happen without a bit of good fortune.

In October, Wright-Way Rescue, an animal rescue organization based in Morton Grove, IL, had an accident with a van used for their animal rescue missions. The accident rendered their van a total loss with an insurance payout that would not be sufficient to purchase a replacement vehicle. With countless animal lives hanging in the balance, Wright-Way put out a call to the community to help raise funds for a replacement vehicle.

Meanwhile, NTN had recently replaced our Technical Training Unit van, and had begun looking for a deserving home for the previous van, a 2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. Even after 12 years of onsite bearing training service, the van has been well maintained and has a lot of useful life left in it. The NTN team contacted multiple charities looking for a cause that could make good use of the van, but we had not found the right fit. And that’s when the stars aligned.

Wright-Way’s call for help was picked up by local Chicago media outlets, and the headline, "Suburban rescue in ‘dire’ need of new van to save animals from being euthanized”, came to the attention of the NTN team. NTN reached out to Christy Anderson, founder of Wright-Way, to see if our van would help get them back on the road, and she was thrilled to accept our donation offer. Because of its former duty, the van is equipped with a loading ramp, shelving, and a cargo bulkhead, which will all be very useful for its new mission with Wright-Way.

“We were looking for a good home for our technical training van, and we feel fortunate to have found a deserving organization, in urgent need, based less than 10 miles away from our US headquarters.” Said Pete Eich, president and CEO. “Wright-Way Rescue fulfills a critical role in our community, saving the lives of dogs and cats on a daily basis, and we are thrilled that our van will go from bearing training duty to animal rescue duty. When we shared this news internally, our employees opened their hearts and filled the van with much needed supplies for Wright-Way, making an even bigger impact. I couldn’t be more proud of the NTN team.”

On Thursday, November 16th, a group of NTN employees delivered the van to Wright-Way’s Morton Grove location. The NTN team was greeted by the grateful team from Wright-Way Rescue to hand off the vehicle, tour their facility, and of course to meet some of the animals Wright-Way works so hard to rescue. At the end of the day, Wright-Way had gained a much-needed vehicle and supplies, and the NTN team had gained the satisfaction that we were able to help a deserving organization in our community. Wright-Way was also left with one less dog to find a home for, as a member of the NTN HR team fell in love with a puppy and had to take her home.

NTN launched a new Community Spirit and Engagement Policy in January 2023, with the purpose of managing the company in a responsible and ethical manner and making a positive impact on the communities where we operate. The goals of the policy include maintaining a community involvement program that contributes time and resources to charitable organizations and encourages employees to have an active role within the local community and making positive contributions to the community and building partnerships with other groups and organizations.

“NTN’s donation of this vehicle to Wright-Way Rescue aligns perfectly with the goals of NTN’s Community Spirit and Engagement Policy.” Said Brad Fideli, director, human resources. “The effort of our team to go the extra-mile in collecting needed supplies from our employees and community are a great example of the impact a program like ours can have. We are proud to contribute to our community and build relationships with wonderful organizations like Wright-Way.”

Wright-Way Rescue, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) animal rescue organization, has multiple locations in the Chicago suburbs and downstate Illinois. They focus on rescuing dogs and cats, that are very likely to be euthanized, from overpopulated shelters. Many of these animals come from rural and southern areas of the US, so Wright-Way makes regular trips to pick them up and bring them to Illinois, where they operate as a no-kill shelter, nursing the animals to health and finding them loving forever homes. Wright-Way rescues over 5,000 animals each year, and in the process drives 130,000 miles, making safe and reliable transportation crucial to fulfilling their mission.