by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
You see it all the time in newspaper stories and television news reports. Jeep owners getting together to help support others. And if you own one, chances are that you’ve participated in one of these gatherings as well — whether with friends or a local Jeep club.
Maybe it was a drive by caravan to raise the spirits of someone recovering from a hospital stay. Or perhaps a fundraiser meet and greet for some important cause.
They are everywhere, and Jeep CEO Christian Meunier recently said the brand itself definitely has the “ability to help others” and they are working on plans to better involve the company in these types of efforts.
“This is still a concept that we’re working on several different avenues,” Meunier said during a media event earlier this year. “I think the values of Jeep work very well with (helping others). I think we have a role to help the communities.”
In the winter months, Jeep owners seem to go out of their way to help others by offering rides, or assisting those who are stranded. But, in reality, it happens pretty much all year long.
This past weekend, in southern Delaware, numerous Jeep clubs got together for a huge caravan and softball event to support the family of a fallen police officer. Throughout last month, a club in Minnesota held several drive by rides for birthday parties and to drop off food for hospital workers.
“Our Instagram had images of (Jeepers) towing people out of the snow in Texas (in February),” said Jim Morrison, head of Jeep North America. “The Jeep Community just does that. Driving doctors and nurses to the hospitals. Towing people that had their Honda Civics stuck, the 2WD Fords, their RAV4. People just do that because they have the capability.”
Of course, there are plenty of others around the country who organize and host these events, and having the backing of Jeep itself, as well as whatever resources they bring, could give these things even more of a push into the mainstream.
“The Jeep owners do it already,” said Meunier. “Jeepers getting together to help a little kid recovering from cancer — there are very, very powerful things that they can do today in the United States. And I think the responsibility of a brand like Jeep is to take it to another level. To bring the community to do something for the planet, to do something for communities.”
While Jeep has not detailed what those plans would involve, Meunier did note they could tie it into projects already in the works, like electrification. Jeep owners, he said, regularly enjoy the outdoors and the company announced last month it is building charging stations at dozens of off-road locations across the country.
“We’re working on some projects related to nature. Electrification can be a part of it,” he said. “There’s a lot we can do; we have some very good ideas, we’re getting close to nailing it and we have to get it approved by (Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares).”
