The National Auto Body Council (NABC), along with Hertz and CDE Collision Center, recently gifted a refurbished vehicle to a deserving Illinois mother via the Recycled Rides program.
The presentation was held at CDE Collision Center in Des Plaines, Ill. Hertz donated the 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, and CDE Collision Center handled the repairs. Fahtina Al Amin, a mother of two teenage boys, one of whom has sickle cell anemia, was selected for the program by Family Promise Chicago North Shore, where she sought housing and assistance when facing homelessness a few years ago and today works to help other families in need.“
“Fahtina was a past guest at Family Promise Chicago North Shore after she and her family became homeless
and were staying with various relatives,” said Tracey McKeithen, agency director for Family Promise Chicago North Shore. “In early 2020, she lost her husband due to sickle cell disease and organ failure. Fahtina returned to Family Promise to work part-time after the pandemic started and pay it forward by showing other guests the same hospitality that she was shown when her family was homeless.
“Fahtina purchased a car and was working to pay for it when early one morning, she received notice from a neighbor that someone hit her parked car and totaled it. Her insurance paid off the car but left her without transportation to get to work. There is limited public transportation to reach the congregations she supports, and her son has difficulty walking to school in cold weather due to his sickle cell anemia. Having reliable transportation would allow her to maintain the job that she loves at Family Promise — and continue living, working and raising her family in this community.”
“Hertz is proud to provide vehicle donations to deserving recipients through our longstanding partnership with the National Auto Body Council and NABC Recycled Rides,” said Kristle Bollans, director, Replacement Accounts at Hertz. “Giving back to the communities where we live and work is an important pillar of Hertz, and I was honored to hand over the keys to Ms. Al Amin.”
Added CDE Collision Centers Director of Operations Eric Freiberg, “Partnering with the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program gives us a way to give back to our communities. For the restoration of her vehicle, some of our employees donated their time as well as we had several local vendors offer to donate goods or services needed to complete the repairs. A special thanks to the General Motors Corp Donation Program, Keystone Automotive, LKQ Corp., Auto Bumper House, Denny G’s Automotive, Axalta Coatings and asTech for providing us with those needed goods and services. We feel they could not have picked a better candidate in Fahtina, and it was our pleasure to help get her back on the road!”
Recycled Rides is a unique program in which businesses representing all facets of the collision repair industry team up to repair and donate vehicles to individuals and families in need of reliable transportation. Since the inception of the program in 2007, NABC members have donated nearly 3,000 vehicles valued at some $42 million.
Additional partners in the Recycled Rides presentation include 1-800 Charity Cars, which handled the vehicle title, General Motors Corp. Donation Program, Keystone Automotive, LKQ Corp., Auto Bumper House, Denny G’s Automotive, Axalta Coatings and asTech.
