Hershey's Kissmobile resembles a clump of Halloween candy that's gone bad after a few weeks in the trick-or-treat sack. On a summer-long fund-raising trip for the Children's Miracle Network, the unusual vehicle made a stop at the Kingstowne Wal-Mart store last Friday.
Liz Stevenson of Audobon, N.J., and co-driver Tom Cummings of St. Louis, Mo., enjoy the reactions that they've seen on their trip so far. People wave and smile at the sight of the unusual contraption.
"They're familiar with the Hershey kisses," Stevenson said. "A lot of them think it's made of chocolate."
The two are in the 11th week of a 30-week tour of the East Coast, waving, smiling and giving out kisses — of the chocolate variety — wherever they go.
"This is definitely a dream job. It's like that everywhere we go," said Cummings, waving out of the window as the Kissmobile traveled down the highway. "We had a lady let go of the steering wheel to get her camera. We were going 65 and all."
The tour's goal is to raise more than $1 million for the Children's Miracle Network, said Stevenson. She is a marketing graduate from Rutgers University, who is forging her marketing skills with the Kissmobile.
"We try to hit 75 cities," she said.
The Children's Miracle Network raises funds for 170 children's hospitals across the nation. These hospitals provide care, research and community outreach to help millions of children with various diseases and injuries. The network is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was founded in 1983 from a televised fund-raiser. Through its fund-raising efforts, including the Kissmobile, The Children's Miracle Network has raised $2.2 billion so far.
The children's hospital that serves this area is the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
THE KISSMOBILE was supposed to be in Kingstowne on Wednesday, June 16, but broke down on the road and didn't arrive until Friday, June 18, according to Hershey's spokesperson Josh Schroeder. Stevenson and Cummings were in Kentucky the night before.
"They're based out of Hershey [Pa.]. They go everywhere," Schroeder said.
The driver and passenger sit in the first “kiss.” The second kiss is full of prizes and gifts, some available for purchase, along with a big screen television screen that plays a promotional video. The last kiss is a big refrigerator full of chocolate kisses — 230,000 kisses, according to Cummings.
But the trip goes on, with "tons of waving, blowing kisses," Cummings said.
Stevenson is keeping a record to remember the summer by.
"I do keep a journal. You get to meet so many different people," Stevenson said.
After the pair heads up to Maine during the second half of June, they'll come back to Washington, D.C., to be in the Fourth of July parade.