An unconventional fundraising event, the car smash, has always been intriguing for so many reasons. For one, you get to take a sledgehammer to an automobile and completely annihilate it.
Secondly, when mixed with a charitable cause, a car smash is a great way for those who've fought a deadly disease in the past – like cancer – or those who have a loved one currently fighting an illness to vent their frustrations. After all, there is no better way to vent then to lay a serious beating in the name of charity.
So what exactly is a car smash?
As mentioned above, a car smash combines the best of two worlds: charitable giving and beating the heck out of an automobile. The success of this fundraiser is rooted in basic human behavior. When someone we love is suffering from a disease or illness, we often have nowhere to vent our aggression.
A car smash not only gives us an outlet; it encourages us to use that anger for good (for example, to help pay for the treatment of a disease or to raise funds for research).
As far as the smashing part goes, a car smash is an event-based fundraiser where people pay a nominal fee to strike an old car with a sledgehammer and other objects for a designated amount of time.
For instance, you could allow each individual to take a swing at the car with a hammer for $2 for 1 minute. To further fuel the fire, oftentimes, the old wrecked auto is painted with positive slogans promoting the charity cause, for instance, “take a swing at fighting breast cancer.”
Prepare a car for smashing
It's really quite simple – contact a local junkyard, automobile dealer or auto insurance company to see if they have a car in beatable condition. The car doesn't have to run, but it needs to be intact as far as the body goes (which means the motor, windshield and windows, any dangerous fluids and the guts need to be removed ahead of time).
The great news is that many junkyards are more than willing to donate an old beater, and even drop it off, to your fundraising group in the name of charity. Your car smashing arsenal can consist of the following:
- An assortment of hand tools
- Bolt cutters
- Sledgehammers
- Bricks
- Hacksaws
- Spray paint
How to make a smashing good time safe
The car smash is a lot of fun until someone gets hurt. That's why it's imperative to put the proper safety measures in place to protect both participants and spectators. You can do this by:
- Relocating the car to a safe location, such as large, empty parking area, for smashing
- Ensuring all fluids and hazardous materials are removed from the car ahead of the smashing
- Removing the glass, windshield and windows
- Having all car smashers wear safety glasses, gloves and protective outerwear (you might also get them to sign waivers)
- Situating your spectators a safe distance away from the car – and any flying metal debris
- Marking a clear perimeter for spectators
- Enlisting paramedics to stand by in case of any emergencies
- Alerting your local police of your event
Ensuring the safety of everyone in attendance means that no car smasher gets smashed and no unsuspecting spectator gets hit by flying car parts during a smashing.
Promote your car smash
When inviting your community at large to help put the beats on a car – you really need no further encouragement. The easiest and cheapest way to promote your event will be to use social networking outlets like Facebook and Twitter.
To make your car smash more than just a day of destruction, you could also invite local businesses to set up booths. To raise additional fundraising dollars, you could also ask them to donate door prizes or silent auction items to your charity cause.
If your fundraiser is a charity event for say, drinking and driving, you could also invite members of the local fire department and police force to attend as guest speakers and promote your event further through those organizations.
How much effort will it take to empty the fluids from the car ?
How much permission do you need if you were going to do it at a local school ?
Most junkyards have to drain fluids to be able to recycle the car, so contact them to get one with fluids already drained. I did one at my high school. We talked to our principal and superintendent and a local junkyard and did in the football field parking lot before a game.
What do you do with the car after you’re done with the car smash?
What about liability? I am think of doing a car smash as a function through work and the thought came up of liability and insurance. Would our company’s insurance be the ones to contact? Or the junkyard? Or just leave it up to a liability form that those who are 18 years or older must sign or the parents of those who are younger than 18?