If you’re wondering what your shop can do to bridge the skills gap, the Collision Repair Education Foundation has two ways you can make an immediate impact.

The foundation is requesting year-end in-kind donations of products, tools, equipment and spare parts that will be distributed to high school and college collision repair programs.

The tax-deductible donations will provide a great start to the spring school semesters during a time when instructors are facing limited program budgets and expected to graduate well-trained and productive entry-level staff for industry employment, the foundation noted.

Another year-end opportunity is to sponsor student safety kits for local high school and college collision programs.

For $50 per student, each safety kit includes a Cintas work shirt and work pants. Companies that sponsor at least 20 safety kits will have their corporate logo added to the work shirts, which the students would wear around the school and local community. The Collision Repair Education Foundation would arrange a time for the sponsoring companies to present the safety kits to the local collision school students when they begin their spring school semester after the New Year.

“We are looking for the industry’s help to provide early holiday gifts to high school and college collision instructors through donated products, tools, equipment, and spare parts for their programs,” Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode said. “Many of these instructors are working with limited program budgets and need as much help as possible in order to provide a quality technical education.

“Also, as companies might have remaining, year-end sponsorship budgetary funds, the industry is invited to sponsor student work uniforms for local collision students and provide them with a professional appearance. Plus, as companies can sponsor these work uniforms for collision school programs near them, they can directly see how their support is making a difference and personally handing these kits out to the students at the beginning of the spring semester. We invite the industry to help the education foundation end the year on a strong note and getting in contact with us on either of these two year-end opportunities.”

Industry members interested in making year-end product donations and/or sponsoring collision student safety kits for local high school and college collision programs should contact Eckenrode at [email protected] or (847) 463-5244.