Families all over the world rent cars to get to their summer vacation destinations, celebrate the holidays, or surprise Grandma and Grandpa with a visit. Rental car companies are no strangers to transporting children, but how many of them give back to ensure that those tiny passengers succeed? You might be surprised at how much the following car rental agencies do to help build a better future for kids.

Budget Rent-A-Car

Image via Flickr by www.bluewaikiki.com

Budget Rent-a-Car remains committed to helping the people living in the communities its rental centers serve. Budget has dedicated a page of its website where children’s groups and other charitable organizations can request a corporate donation to their case. Budget is a subsidiary of the Avis Group, known for its philanthropic efforts focused on youth-oriented organizations.

Some of Avis’ largest contributions go to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a nonprofit that awards scholarships to young people of color in honor of the baseball player’s legacy, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit that grants the wishes of terminally ill children. Budget’s parent company also sponsors the Upromise program, which allows members to donate 5 percent of their mileage charges to the college savings account of the child of their choice.

Enterprise

Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of Enterprise, Alamo, and National rental car agencies, has prioritized corporate citizenship and philanthropic efforts toward children since its inception. To date, the Enterprise Foundation has given more than $230 million to thousands of nonprofit organizations devoted to education and community improvement.

Of the grants that the foundation awards, 86 percent go to fulfill requests from employees to help support the local causes that matter to them. According to Enterprise, 40 percent of the money goes toward health and human services. In that sector, Enterprise makes large contributions to the United Way, a nonprofit that has served millions of children by providing them with the education, funds, and social support they need to succeed. Underneath the surface mission of delivering affordable rental cars, Enterprise is clearly a company with a heart.

Hertz

As the second-largest rental car company in the world after Enterprise, Hertz maintains a variety of child-oriented charitable endeavors as part of its social responsibility strategy. Like Enterprise, Hertz also makes generous contributions to the United Way to promote financial stability for families and youth engagement through programming.

One of the common problems affecting families in Hertz’s communities is a lack of access to transportation. For this reason, Hertz teamed up with a few other organizations to create Recycled Rides, a service project that provides upcycled vehicles to families in need. In 2014 alone, Hertz donated four vehicles to the program along with contributions for parts and labor.

While parents drive their kids to destinations all over the world in the rental cars of these companies, the companies themselves are helping drive the development and success of kids around the world. Hertz, Enterprise, and Budget all lead the rental car industry in their charitable commitment to helping kids succeed.