CARSTAR announced that St. Anthony Family Shelter in Wichita, Kan., recently received a minivan to help homeless families and the shelter’s transportation needs.
Wendy Glick, senior director of mission services and development, said their shelter had been needing a van and asked CARSTAR Auto Body Repair for help.
“CARSTAR has been a wonderful partner of Catholic Charities by providing reliable vehicles for several of our clients in the past,” said Glick. “This vehicle will be used by staff at St. Anthony Family Shelter to meet the needs of the homeless families served there. What a blessing to have a newer model, reliable family van to transport our families – especially the children – to appointments and community outings.”
As a result, a 2005 Saturn Relay was donated to Catholic Charities of Wichita on Sept. 24th as part of the Recycled Rides program. Recycled Rides is a community service program where body shops repair and donate recycled vehicles to families in need. The CARSTAR Collision Specialists West location repaired and refurbished the van. AAA Allied Group donated the salvaged Saturn to the program.
The vehicle had initially been damaged in a collision on the right front side and was towed into the CARSTAR location on West Kellogg. The CARSTAR shop had been on the lookout for a suitable van for Catholic Charities.
“The van was declared a total loss, and we realized this vehicle was a perfect fit for the shelter’s needs,“ said Ray Rose, general manager for Collision Specialists CARSTAR. “We contacted AAA Allied Group, who agreed to donate this van to the Recycled Rides program.”
Rose said body shops see vehicles that are totaled by either the owner or the insurance company and sent to salvage yards. “Many times all these vehicles need is some body work, mechanical repairs or TLC to get them road-ready and safe to drive. We are grateful that AAA Allied Group generously donated a van for our shop to repair.”
James Hanni, AAA Allied executive vice president of government and public affairs, added, “AAA Allied is dedicated to giving back to the communities that we serve. We are pleased to be able to partner with Recycled Rides to donate a refurbished car to a deserving organization like Catholic Charities.”
Rose said this is the fourth time that CARSTAR has partnered with Catholic Charities of Wichita on a Recycled Rides project. “Repairing this van has been a labor of love. Our staff worked hard to make the donation a reality.”
The staff at Collision Specialists West volunteered their personal time to repair this car. Rose said it takes many donations to make the vehicle giveaway possible.
Donating parts and services to make this Recycled Ride possible were: Denton Auto Salvage, BASF, FinishMaster, Auto Hail Repair, The Windshield Shop, Charity Cars, and the technicians and staff at Collision Specialists WEST location.
The gold minivan was decorated with a huge red bow and given away in a short presentation held at the CARSTAR location on West Kellogg.
