Your 100% Community Partner

More Than a Sponsorship: How Step One Shows Up for Northwest Florida

For Step One Automotive Group, being part of Northwest Florida means more than putting a dealership name on a banner. Community involvement is built into how we operate, with outreach centered on three areas that matter deeply to the communities we serve: children and education, military support, and the environment.

Across the Step One family of dealerships, that commitment has grown into more than $3 million invested back into the community, partnerships with more than 125 nonprofit organizations, more than 50 pet adoption events, and programs that have impacted more than 2,000 local school children.

Helping Local Children, Families, and Schools

Step One's support for children and education reaches across several of its Northwest Florida dealerships. Step One Volkswagen Fort Walton Beach has partnered with Healthy Start for a Child Passenger Safety Day, helping families with professional car-seat installations and distributing car seats to families in need. Step One Kia Fort Walton Beach has supported the Fort Walton Beach Buccaneers Youth Football and Cheer program, including 108 young athletes and 24 cheerleaders across four age groups.

Step One's Fort Walton Beach dealerships have also supported the Distinguished Young Women of Okaloosa County Gala, an event that gives young women an opportunity to showcase their achievements while competing for scholarships. Through the Stuff the Bus initiative with United Way, Step One dealerships have also collected school supplies for local students, with Step One Cadillac GMC Fort Walton Beach among the dealerships contributing to the effort.

Step One Subaru Fort Walton Beach adds another dimension through programs such as Subaru Loves Learning and its support of the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center. Together, these efforts show what Step Together can look like in practice: different dealerships finding different ways to support children and families across Northwest Florida.

Turning a Love of Animals Into Local Action

Pet adoption events have become another recognizable part of Step One's community involvement. Across the group, Step One reports hosting more than 50 pet adoption events, connecting local rescue organizations with people who may be able to give an animal a permanent home.

That relationship goes beyond hosting events. Step One Subaru Fort Walton Beach has worked with local animal rescue organizations through Subaru's Share the Love initiative, including a documented $26,676 contribution to Save Underdogs. The organization rescues, rehabilitates, and works to rehome dogs that have been abandoned, neglected, or otherwise need help finding a new home.

Supporting the Military Community Beyond the Dealership

Northwest Florida is home to one of the country's most significant military communities, with active-duty service members, veterans, civilian personnel, and military families connected to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, and Duke Field, along with other installations throughout the region. For Step One, supporting this community has developed into something much larger than a dealership discount.

Forever Warriors grew out of Step One Automotive Group's military outreach and became a private nonprofit foundation focused on helping active-duty service members and veterans connect with resources and transition opportunities. Rather than trying to replace organizations already doing important work, Forever Warriors helps bring together veteran-led organizations, community resources, and stakeholders that understand the challenges service members can face during and after the transition to civilian life.

That mission has particular meaning in Northwest Florida. Military service is part of everyday life throughout communities surrounding Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Duke Field, NAS Pensacola, and the wider Emerald Coast. Supporting service members, veterans, and their families is therefore not a distant cause for Step One. It is support for people who live, work, raise families, and build their lives in the same communities as our dealerships and team members.

Community Involvement You Can Participate In

Step One's approach is not limited to writing checks. Community sponsorships, donation drives, dealership-hosted events, pet adoptions, and volunteer opportunities give Step One team members and local residents ways to participate directly.

The Step One Volunteer Corps gives people another way to get involved, while nonprofit and community organizations can contact Step One about potential partnerships and sponsorship opportunities. That keeps community outreach connected to the people and organizations doing the work locally.

Step Together Means Something Here

One of Step One Automotive Group's core beliefs is Step Together: partnering with others to accomplish more than we could individually. Community outreach is one of the clearest places to see that belief in action across Northwest Florida, from supporting local schools and animal rescue organizations to working alongside the region's military and veteran communities.

A dealership cannot replace a teacher, an animal rescue volunteer, a children's advocate, or a veteran-support organization. What it can do is use its people, locations, resources, and relationships to help those organizations reach more people and keep doing their work.

That's what being a community partner means to us. Not simply being located in Northwest Florida, but taking part in it.