--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Vote now! Help a deserving nonprofit win a Defender vehicle. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25b8eaa09123a329/6a4b522c8b93e567465ad775/untitled-design-21.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Vote now! Help a deserving nonprofit win a Defender vehicle.  Charitable organizations form the backbone of local communities, filling in gaps in services and providing critical support to the most vulnerable. Whether it’s distributing aid in a disaster, rescuing endangered wildlife, or simply making sure neighbors have enough to eat, the work nonprofits do day in and day out is essential, but too often goes unnoticed. The Defender Service Awards give under-sung nonprofits in the United States and Canada the recognition they deserve and the resources they need to take their missions to the next level. Since 2021, the program has distributed 24 Defender vehicles and over $1 million to a diverse set of organizations ranging from an Appalachian bear cub rescue to a foundation that helps U.S. special forces members transition back to civilian life. The inspiration behind the awards traces back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Like many of us, I think we were hugely inspired by the organizations that kept us all safe and fed," remembers Joe Eberhardt, president and CEO of JLR North America. “You then sit back and reflect and say … Can we give something back?” This year, six nonprofits will receive a Defender 130 and $30,000 to support their selfless efforts. The winners will be chosen from categories including: Animal, Wildlife & Marine Mammal Welfare Award, presented by Disney; Search, Rescue & Emergency Support Services Award, presented by PELICAN; Outdoor Accessibility & Education Award, presented by OUTSIDE Interactive, Inc.; Community Services Award, presented by ei3; Veteran & Civil Servant Outreach Award, presented by Hearts & Science, and Defender Service Honorees Award, presented by S&P Global. For charities that are always on the move, sometimes even navigating hazardous terrain, a dependable vehicle capable of handling whatever the situation demands is crucial. Drawing from 70 years of innovative engineering, the Defender 130 is up to the challenge. “Defender has always been a brand that is steeped in service that has been used by organizations around the world," says Eberhardt. “So it's really the perfect fit for what we're trying to do.” Each winning charity has the opportunity to customize their Defender according to their specific needs. For example, a wildlife rescue might request partitions in the cargo area to accommodate animals. There’s also a design consultation where organizations decide on logo wraps and colors to make the vehicle truly feel like their own. Since most of the nonprofits involved are volunteer-run and don’t have the resources to market themselves, a branded vehicle can go a long way in attracting people’s eyes, and raising much-needed funds. The Defender vehicles are revealed at an event held at the Land Rover Experience Center at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC — and the winners’ reactions are as heartfelt as the charitable work they do. “There's an enormous cheer and then there's an overwhelming quietness of people just taking in and absorbing what they're receiving,” explains Sam Allen, US Defender Brand Director. “It's almost as if a new team member is joining their organization. They see this vehicle of capability, of assurance, and there's tears.”  One such organization, Mercy Chefs, received their vehicle at the Biltmore in 2022\. Just two years later, they were back in Asheville distributing food to flood victims. “There are many stories like that over the years,” Allen offers, “that truly reflect the spirit of \[the awards\].” You can learn more about Mercy Chefs in the video featured on this page. Other past winners include Patriot Service Dogs, a charity that engages incarcerated women to train service dogs for veterans with PTSD and other combat-related trauma. Squamish Search and Rescue, the 2023 winner of the Search and Rescue category, carries out treacherous emergency operations in British Columbia. It’s these types of smaller nonprofits where transport plays a big role that especially benefit from a vehicle like Defender. “We specifically choose to be involved with organizations where we're going to make a change," says Allen. Upon receiving their Defender, nonprofits are invited to the Land Rover Experience Center at the Biltmore Estate to learn how to take full advantage of the vehicle’s advanced features. From there, final deliveries of the cars are arranged, often by Land Rover retailers who unveil them in their showrooms in front of the winning organizations’ volunteers, members of the communities they serve, and local media. Many of the sponsors who back the awards also remain involved with the charities well after the fanfare subsides (this year’s sponsors include presenting partner Chase, premier partner Artemis, and category sponsors ei3, Disney, Heart & Science, Outside Interactive Inc., Pelican, and S&P Global). —. As Eberhardt explains, this kind of ongoing engagement is core to the initiative. “It's not just ‘give you the car and then disappear.’ You receive the car, you get financial support, and you're now part of a network that actually continues to support each other going forward.”  The awards provide another form of help that is critical to charities’ success: visibility. “It is an incredible opportunity to help those organizations that typically go unnoticed and that deserve a lot more attention than what they actually receive,” Eberhardt says. For instance, Hamptons Community Outreach, one of the very first Defender Service Award winners, supports people experiencing poverty in an area most people associate with wealth. To be considered, nonprofits submit videos showcasing their mission and explaining why receiving a Defender would be beneficial to them. Finalists’ videos are released online and voted on by the public, drumming up more awareness for the charities and their causes. Nearly 900 videos have been submitted this year, an all-time high. As Eberhardt recounts, even the finalist organizations that don’t make it to the winner’s podium benefit greatly from participating. “Maybe the most rewarding thing for me was to get feedback from many organizations that said, ‘We didn't win. We didn't get the car; we didn't get the money. But what we did get is the attention of a much larger audience that otherwise we would've never been able to reach.” Nonprofits rely on the altruistic acts of everyday people to make a difference in their communities. In the case of the Defender Service Awards, it’s the simple act of voting that will allow deserving organizations to continue driving change with the help of a new Defender 130\. Get to know this year’s finalists below, and [cast your vote here](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.landroverusa.com/experiences/events-and-sponsorships/defender-service-awards/index.html%5F%5F;!!OrxsNty6D4my!9cM6uxbjDUyMezDuCoVohT66jpTA0NhS-sosfPNoFuk92iM2C5cGqkyZ7yId7r%5Fuf2j73p0lvUR0vYehR1VHR3eD$ "undefined")​ starting October 3. Animal, Wildlife & Marine Mammal Welfare Award – Presented by Disney * HIT Living Foundation – Los Angeles, CA * Marine Mammals of Maine – Brunswick, ME * Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society – Vancouver, BC * WildCare Oklahoma – Noble, OK * The Gentle Barn – Santa Clarita, CA Search, Rescue & Emergency Support Services Award – Presented by PELICAN * Boulder Emergency Squad – Boulder, CO * Amwell Valley Ambulance Corps – Ringoes, NJ * Chilliwack Search & Rescue – Chilliwack, BC * Sunshine Coast Search & Rescue – Sechelt, BC * Pemberton Search & Rescue – Pemberton, BC Outdoor Accessibility & Education Award – Presented by OUTSIDE Interactive, Inc. * Catalyst Sports Inc. – Atlanta, GA * Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada – Dorval, QC * City Kids Wilderness Project, Inc. – Washington, DC * Adaptive Adventures – Westminster, CO * North Carolina Adapted Sports – Cary, NC Community Services Award – Presented by ei3 * Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula – Pacific Grove, CA * Feeding Northeast Florida – Jacksonville, FL * Meta House, Inc. – Milwaukee, WI * Red Feather Development Group – Flagstaff, AZ * The Food Brigade – Paramus, NJ Veteran & Civil Servant Outreach Award – Presented by Hearts & Science * Shelter to Soldier – San Diego, CA * Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans – St. Paul, MN * Combat Recovery Foundation – Loveland, CO * Jason’s Box – Paris, KY * Project Sanctuary – Pagosa Springs, CO Defender Service Honorees Award – Presented by S&P Global ##### More than 20 previous finalists have resubmitted their videos for public voting. ##### Quotations have been edited for clarity and length.  [VOTE now](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.landroverusa.com/experiences/events-and-sponsorships/defender-service-awards/index.html%5F%5F;!!OrxsNty6D4my!9cM6uxbjDUyMezDuCoVohT66jpTA0NhS-sosfPNoFuk92iM2C5cGqkyZ7yId7r%5Fuf2j73p0lvUR0vYehR1VHR3eD$) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/defender/vote-now-help-a-deserving-nonprofit-win-a-defender-vehicle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/defender/vote-now-help-a-deserving-nonprofit-win-a-defender-vehicle/"},"headline":"Vote now! Help a deserving nonprofit win a Defender vehicle.","datePublished":"2026-06-18T14:28:09.518Z","dateModified":"2026-05-26T14:55:56.159Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/defender/vote-now-help-a-deserving-nonprofit-win-a-defender-vehicle/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/defender/vote-now-help-a-deserving-nonprofit-win-a-defender-vehicle/","name":"Vote now! Help a deserving nonprofit win a Defender vehicle."}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"USE THIS - Jaguar Land Rover Final Branded Content Video","description":"USE THIS - Jaguar Land Rover Final Branded Content Video","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/yT7FNlJQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-09-30T19:12:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yT7FNlJQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/branded-content/defender/vote-now-help-a-deserving-nonprofit-win-a-defender-vehicle/","duration":"PT54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/branded-content/defender/vote-now-help-a-deserving-nonprofit-win-a-defender-vehicle/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```