a Lifelong Devotion
Another ‘Cars and Cans’ held, and local charity is grateful
Lowell » Four years ago, I interviewed Alex Lambert at his home in Dracut.
Somehow, I learned that he had organized a food drive for the Dracut Food Pantry. He named it “Cars and Cans.”
I am always interested in a good Dracut story and there are lots of them. But it is always very special when the person you are interviewing is a former student.
When Alex Lambert was in eighth grade, it was not unusual to see him reading a car magazine after finishing a test or during homeroom. Always responsible and organized, Alex — or Slimey as his friends and family know him — was on top of his academics. Not surprisingly, he was a superb student. His schoolwork came first, but if there was extra time, he would be reading up on cars.
Now several years later, those same qualities which made him a successful student in middle school — responsible and organized —
Alex is now at Bentley University student studying finance. He aspires to own a garbage and recycling business one day. But in his spare time, he loves all things car-related.
I recently sat down with Alex again to talk about this year’s Cars and Cans Car Show, which was held on Saturday, Aug. 14, at Cross Point in Lowell. This year’s event supported the Merrimack Valley Food Bank.
Alex grew up around cars. His mother and father are interested in cars and the family has been going to car shows for years. The first car show Alex was interested in going to, not one mom and dad picked, was back in 2011. It was the annual Octoberfest Car Show put on by Porsche of Nashua. His favorite car was there that day, a Porsche 911 Speedster.
Typically, the family attends 30 to 40 car shows a year!
So, why did Alex start this event four years ago? The answer was pretty simple.
He had been to many car shows and wanted to organize one of his own to help the community. The original event was held at Owen & Ollie’s and benefited the Dracut Food Pantry. In 2018, he again held it there for the Dracut Food Pantry.
But Alex wanted to expand the show and help even more people. So, he moved the event to Cross Point in Lowell and decided to donate the proceeds to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. Over 100 different locations, including the Dracut Food Pantry, are served by the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, according to Lambert.
Of course, expansion of the event would not be possible without many generous sponsors. This year Cars and Cans had 21 sponsors including Team Micky Ward Charities, Gervais and Coca-Cola.
All of his hard work and dedication paid off once again. There were about 120 cars at the show and he raised $4,000.
If you missed this year’s event, you can still donate. Email Alex Lambert at slimeyworm007@gmail.com or send a message to his Instagram, Cars and CansShow.
Cars & Cans fundraiser started in 2017 by alex ‘slimey’ Lambert, 20, of dracut, returns after one year gap due to the pandemic, this time at showcase Cinema de Lux Lowell, and benefiting the Merrimack Valley food bank.
JuLIa MaLaKIe / LOWeLL sun
Rebecca Duda, Columnist
