It has been said that some kids never grow up; the size of the cars they play with just get bigger. Ian Lott and his staff at Uftring Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Pekin might be some of those kids. Every day presents new opportunities to play with bigger cars and help other big kids look for new ones to buy.

But for many kids across the country, the opportunity to grow up might be cut tragically short and the hopes of ever playing with bigger cars might never happen. For the many children suffering from cancer and other pediatric diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is dedicated to aiding them and their families with free treatment, housing, and food.

In order to help pay for that treatment, however, St. Jude must operate mainly on donations – donations that come from events like the Jeep Creep for St. Jude.

For a sixth year, Uftring Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram will be hosting the Jeep Creep for St. Jude, launching from their dealership at 140 Radio City Drive in North Pekin, Illinois. 

What exactly is a Jeep Creep, though? As Executive Manager Ian Lott puts it, “It’s a whole day of spending time with your Jeep, showing it off, enjoying it, and being around local Jeepers from the community who are getting together to raise money for the kids. We create a route, make a couple of stops for refreshments and food, and enjoy the beautiful landscape of Central Illinois.”

It began, simply enough, through the suggestion of a couple in search of a new car. Several years ago, Ronnie and Mitzi Pollitt were at Uftring CDJR, closing their purchase of a new Jeep Sahara. When Ian came out to personally thank them for their purchase and to offer his assistance should they ever require it, Mitzi took note of Ian’s wedding ring.

“Oh, you’re married,” she said. “Do you have any kids?”

At that time Ian and his wife had been blessed with four healthy boys (and have since been blessed with a daughter). After telling Mitzi, she replied that she and her husband had been down in Southern Illinois, had seen a flyer for a Jeep run for St. Jude, and thought they should get something similar started further north.

“We really like your dealership and what Uftring stands for,” Mitzi added. “We’d like to partner with you. Would you be interested in something like that?”

Memories of his long history with Uftring flooded back into Ian’s head. Since starting out there washing cars in 1996, he had worked his way through numerous positions, including a time at Uftring Chevrolet in Washington, where they had done a similar Corvette Drive fundraising event for St. Jude.

“I knew the feelings our employees in Washington had had from being involved and doing that for St. Jude, so when Mitzi suggested it, I didn’t hesitate,” Ian admits. “I said, ‘Yes, we’d love to be involved. I’d love to be involved in that personally. How can I help?’”

Planning with Gary Uftring and others eventually led to the first Jeep Creep for St. Jude, which raised about $40,000 with roughly 75 Jeeps in attendance.

The community outpouring only increased from there. In the second year, the event garnered $70,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Coming back the year after COVID, 150 to 170 Jeeps participated in the Creep and they raised $100,000.

“Last year was our all-time biggest record,” Ian says. “We had over 200 Jeeps show up that day and raised over $200,000 for the kids of St. Jude. And we didn’t sell a single car that day to anybody.”

That doesn’t bother Ian in the least, as the Jeep Creep was always meant to be a fundraising event. “It is not a sales event,” he insists. “It’s never been a sales event; it will never be a sales event. I won’t let it. It’s all to raise money for the kids. It’s not something we do because we’re trying to sell cars. We do it because of lot of us are blessed with healthy kids.”

Their efforts have certainly not gone unnoticed, nor have the efforts of similar events held in Central Illinois. According to representatives from St. Jude, Central Illinois is its number one contributing area in the entire country. 

The positive effect money like that can have on people’s lives should never be underestimated. To illustrate that, part of the Jeep Creep involves the families and children who were directly helped by the work St. Jude has done thanks to generous contributions. Children and their families share testimonials about how their lives were changed.

“I’ve heard story after story of how they didn’t know how they were going to pay for anything, or how they were going to lose their house,” Ian relays. “Then they met with the people from St. Jude and went from not knowing how they’d get through to having a plan and feeling like there was somebody who had their back. They speak about how St. Jude stepped in and quieted the storm in their lives and created some stability for their families. That’s why we do what we do. These are real people in our community, people around us who need our help.”

“Gary Uftring cares,” Ian states. “He cares about what we’re doing.” Fundraising events with the right people  have the power to affect anyone. A former salesman at Uftring experienced his own change of heart thanks to the Jeep Creep for St. Jude. “He doesn’t work here anymore, but he still looks forward to this and still comes every year,” Ian says. “He’s smiling and happy to be a part of it. It changes people’s lives and it’s doing good things.”

Ian reveals that he hopes the Jeep Creep will eventually spread across the country and change people’s lives for the better – that every local Jeep dealer will participate in a National Jeep Creep Day. “It would mean good people getting together all over the country with my favorite vehicle,” he says, “where we dream of a world where cancer does not remove a child from their parent.”

The 2025 Jeep Creep for St. Jude will take place on August 16th, 2025. Sign-in runs from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. The Jeeps will depart Uftring CDJR at 10:15 a.m. on different prescribed routes, united in their show of support for St. Jude and the kids.

Countryside Banquet and Catering will be the landing point at 4:00 p.m. Social hour, silent and live auctions, and music provided by Jackd Entertainment will follow until the conclusion of the event at 9:00 p.m. If you want to take part and show your support, register online at www.stjudejeeps.org. 

Because of the hundreds of people participating in the annual Jeep Creep for St. Jude, more of those little kids will have a better chance to grow up to play with bigger cars themselves.

“It has touched my heart; it’s touched my staff’s hearts,” Ian concludes. “Something good happens when you give back. If there’s been a time in your life when you’ve felt compelled to help somebody or to give – either of your time, your money, your resources, or your knowledge – if that changed that person’s life or helped them in any way, it gives you a good feeling. That’s what this has done.”