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Car wash means turkey for needy area families
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When is a $20 car wash worth one turkey donated to the Manteca Second Harvest Food Bank?

When your car gets that level of service – #3 – at Quicki-Kleen on East Yosemite Avenue, corner Washington Street in Manteca.

For the second year in a row, Quicki-Kleen owner Francene Escobar is offering the same challenge to her customers.

“I’m doing it again even though our economy has gotten even worse. And I’m doing it with the help of my customers,” said Escobar.

She gets them involved by putting up a sign at the entrance to her car wash which says that for every #3 car wash that they select, Escobar will donate a turkey in their name to Second Harvest. Those who accept her philanthropic challenge are then given a 3x3-inch piece of paper where they write their names. The pieces of paper, which feature an illustration of a turkey, are then strung together and used as streamers hanging down from the ceiling inside the convenience store of the gas station.

Escobar said she is donating “around 70 turkeys this year,” with birds ordered at Costco in Manteca.

“I would like to express my thanks to my customers for being so generous in helping the cause to help others,” she said.

“Some even donated extra monies when getting a #4 car wash,” she added.

Still others simply brought in frozen turkeys to the car wash, Escobar said.

The 70 turkeys given to Second Harvest this year is considerably less than the 100 donated last year.

“It may be less turkey this year, but the hearts of people are still there,” Escobar noted.

Turkeys and other food donated to Second Harvest are distributed to various non-profit service organizations in and around Manteca. These organizations, in turn, distribute the food items they get at Second Harvest to needy families and individuals in the area for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Quicki-Kleen Car Wash is located at 707 East Yosemite, across from Lincoln Elementary School in Manteca.