Concrete Cruizers Car Show donates proceeds to school for fifth year
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Concrete Cruizers Car Club held their annual fundraiser car show, with all proceeds going towards the Ruby Van Meter School.
Vintage cars took over the lot at Deery Chevrolet in Pleasant Hill on Saturday morning. Founded 37 years ago, Concrete Cruizers was Gary Pullen's way of bringing together local car enthusiasts and using their passion to help others.
'35 years now doing these car shows, our shows always have some type of children's charity that we donate to. This year it's Ruby Van Meter Schools, their booster club helps the teachers with extra supplies that they need for the kids that the school doesn't provide,' said Pullen.
This is the fifth consecutive year the Concrete Cruizers have donated to Ruby Van Meter Schools. Last year, the school used the funds to rebuild the playground for the kids.
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Robert and Laura Holland entered their 1968 Chevy Camero into the contest for the first time in 2024 and took home first place.
'I've been a technician all my life, I love working on cars; it's right up my alley,' said Robert. 'I love actually all the camaraderie, there's a lot of people here that really just welcome you in and make you feel like part of the club, even if you weren't, they're real nice people.'
Pullen says the car show is a lot of work, but with the help of around 60 club members and their families, they are able to pull together a show, food, and the auction. The auction was started 15 years ago and helps showcase unique items.
A table and chairs made from a barrel, a bench made out of a Chevy pickup tailgate, and an electric guitar that was pinstriped by one of their members were just some of the items that attendees were able to bid on.
Pullen didn't think the car show would last this long or get this big, but says he's thankful each year he's given the opportunity to help people out.
'Just being able to raise money and give it to a kids' charity, it means a lot like that to take care of families and so forth,' said Pullen. 'Over the years, we've given to Make-A-Wish, we send a little girl dying of cancer down to Disney World in Florida, so it means a lot to help out people like that.'
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