With this year’s NACE being held in New Orleans, the spotlight again will be on the courage and resilience of the collision repair industry in the Crescent City and the region surrounding it, as well as the people they serve. To help celebrate these qualities, NABC will facilitate —through its Recycled Rides® program — the gifting of six vehicles to six local families at the Morial Convention Center at 1 p.m. October 11. The event will occur in booth N1951 in conjunction with the trade show and exhibition.
Recycled Rides is a national initiative through which NABC members refurbish donated vehicles and gift them to families in need and service organizations dedicated to assisting others. The program is an intra-industry effort, so in addition to body shops donating their labor, insurers, paint suppliers, parts vendors, and rental car companies are recruited to contribute in their own synergistic ways.
“At its most basic, the goal is to help people help themselves,” said Chuck Sulkala, NABC executive director, “and all of the industry segments commit to playing a part in seeing that happens. Most that participate find it a life-changing experience.”
Each Recycled Rides event is local in focus, and the program works with charities in specific geographic areas to find qualified recipients needing a vehicle to help them continue leading productive lives.
The four local shops donating their labor to refurbish the vehicles are:
- Car Craft Collision Centers
- Champ's Collision Centers
- Collision Xperts
- Fradella's Collision Center
Insurance companies contributing vehicles to be worked on include Allstate, Esurance, GEICO, Progressive and State Farm. Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be donating a vehicle as well.
For more information about NABC call (888) 667-7433 or go to www.autobodycouncil.org.
