Mitsubishi Motors supports team record the journey for 2019 Rebelle Rally
October 10, 2019
• Charity dedicated to military veterans receives first Mitsubishi
"Community Utility Vehicle" as part of new "Small Batch –
Big Impact" CSR initiative
• Air Force veteran Karah Behrend to become first disabled athlete
to compete in grueling 2,000 km off-road navigational competition
CYPRESS, Calif. – Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA), the
fastest-growing Asian brand in the U.S. for the second consecutive year*,
is supporting Team Record the Journey, a nonprofit-based entry in the
2019 Rebelle Rally. The Rebelle Rally is the first all-women's off-road
navigation rally raid in the U.S. and the longest competition of its kind
in the lower 48 states.
Record the Journey charity founder and team navigator Rachael Ridenour,
a U.S. Army combat veteran with 31 years of service, will pair up with
driver Karah Behrend, a seven-year U.S. Air Force veteran who had to
medically retire after losing the use of her lower extremities and parts
of her hands to a degenerative neurological disease. Behrend will
become the first disabled athlete to compete in the Rebelle when she
and Ridenour take the start in Lake Tahoe, California, with Behrend
behind the wheel of a minimally modified 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
equipped with hand-controls.
The partnership marks the first step for MMNA's new corporate social
responsibility (CSR) initiative, known as "Small Batch – Big Impact,"
under which the company and its dealer partners plan to redefine
the term "CUV" to mean "Community Utility Vehicle". The CUV
program will create a series of vehicle loans to small nonprofits and
start-up social benefit corporations to help support their local communities.
"'Small Batch' is our new marketing vision, and we said at the outset that
it would go beyond advertising to influence every aspect of our business
in the U.S.," said Kimberley Gardiner, vice president and chief marketing
officer, MMNA. "'Small Batch – Big Impact' is a new aspect of that
philosophy, and we couldn't have found a better nonprofit to receive
our first ‘Community Utility Vehicle' loan than Record the Journey.
The work they do to help veterans process their military and combat
experiences and successfully transition to civilian life shows how large
an impact such a small organization can have. Rachael and Karah are
ensuring this partnership gets off to an inspirational start by blazing
a trail for adaptive athletes in the Rebelle Rally."
Ridenour, who has been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan,
got the idea for Record the Journey, which utilizes photography as
a therapy modality for veterans and their families, as she faced her
own challenges with reacclimating to civil society after time in
a combat zone.
"The transition from a military deployment to arriving at home with
your family can be abrupt and disorienting," said Ridenour. "Through
my own process, I realized that when you're looking through the lens
of a camera, you're forced to be in the present, not thinking about the
past or the future. You can express yourself without having to use
words, and it's an activity that you can easily share with others to
reestablish human connection."
Following the conclusion of the Rebelle, Record the Journey plans to
use the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross – nicknamed "Rosie the Riveter"
by Rachael and Karah – as a support vehicle for charity programming
with other veterans and their families as well as various promotional
activities.
The 2019 Rebelle Rally runs October 10-19, covering 2000 kilometers
of wild, beautiful and remote terrain from Lake Tahoe to San Diego,
using a map and compass as the only means of navigation. The event
concludes with a public awards ceremony from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.,
Saturday, October 19, on San Diego's Broadway Pier, followed by
a private gala at Coasterra restaurant.
Live tracking, updated scoring and daily live webcasts from the 2019
Rebelle Rally are available at www.RebelleRally.com. Team Record
the Journey (a.k.a. Team 207) in the CUV class,
and updates on Rachael's and Karah's Rebelle adventure will be available
on MMNA's social media channels (www.facebook.com/mitsubishi,
www.instagram.com/mitsubishimotors, and www.twitter.com/mitsucars)
and by searching #SmallBatchBigImpact.
* Based on Motor Intelligence CY2017 and CY2018 Sales by
Manufacturer data. Excludes premium brands.
