Subaru of America is bringing back its annual charitable giving program for the 16th consecutive year. 

The automaker is also expanding a waste reduction project with one of the recipients, the National Park Foundation. 

By the end of this year’s Subaru Share the Love Event, the automaker and its participating retailers aim to reach a cumulative total of more than $285 million in donations to returning national charity partners, which also includes the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal, Make-A-Wish and Meals on Wheels America, as well as over 800 local hometown charities.

The four national charities will receive a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000 each.

For every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased at any of the more than 630 Subaru retailers from Nov. 16 through Jan. 2, Subaru will donate $250 to the purchaser's choice of charities. Retailers can also add up to two hometown charities in their local communities to receive an additional $50 or more for each vehicle sold or leased. 

Additionally, many participating Subaru retailers will donate $5 to their registered hometown charities for every Subaru vehicle routine service visit during the campaign period.

Since the launch of the Subaru Share the Love Event in 2008, Subaru of America, Inc. and its participating retailers have donated more than $256 million and supported over 2,100 hometown charities to help those in need.

Subaru is the largest corporate donor to the National Park Foundation, having given over $55 million to that group alone, says Dominick Infante, Subaru of America corporate communications director. The automaker has given over $70 million in total to national park support in general, which includes NPF, Leave No Trace and other park support organizations.

In partnership with the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation works to protect wildlife and park lands. Subaru is helping provide critical funding to programs and projects that help protect America’s more than 400 national parks.

“But we're not just donating the money, we're trying to actually do something behind it,” Infante told a group of media recently gathered for an event. 

The automaker has brought in the same experts who helped the company reduce waste in its plants to come out to the parks and explore ways to reduce waste in the parks.

“We’ve eliminated 22 million pounds of waste out of the parks we're working with,” Infante says. 

The project started with a few test programs at parks and now is expanding to include several new parks, including Zion National Park, he says. 

“We'll work with them on how to stop waste from coming in and also how to keep it from staying in the park,” he says.