Five struggling families in California and Texas and a non-profit in Texas are feeling more optimistic about their future after each received a refurbished vehicle as Caliber Collision Centers rolled out its Recycled Rides program beginning in late December. The company plans to donate more than 12 Recycled Rides this year at its locations throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, says Steve Grimshaw, CEO of Caliber Collision Centers.
Recycled Rides is a community service project of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) that brings together auto body repairers, insurers, parts suppliers and other vendors to refurbish and donate vehicles to needy families and organizations across the country.
"Our purpose day in and day out at Caliber is ‘restoring our customers to the rhythm of their lives,’" said Grimshaw. "We hope these recycled vehicles serve as a catalyst that restores entire families back to the rhythm of their lives."
Grimshaw also credited the success of these initial Recycled Rides presentations to industry partners AAA Insurance and GEICO, which donated the vehicles, and to dozens of Caliber Collision staff at each of the six locations who volunteered countless hours repairing the vehicles.
"This is a complete Caliber Collision team approach to helping families in need," he said. "Seeing first-hand the tremendous impact that a gift of transportation has for a struggling family makes each of us proud to be part of such a wonderful community service program and eager to do even more Recycled Rides donations in all the communities we serve."
The five families and one non-profit organization that received vehicles from Caliber Collision so far include:
• A single mother of four in Riverside, Calif., who needed reliable transportation to take her youngest son, who has leukemia, for frequent medical treatments.
• A former corrections officer in San Diego, Calif., whose diagnosis of kidney cancer triggered a downward spiral of financial hardships including living in a homeless shelter with his family of five.
• A small business owner and single mother of two teenagers, facing bankruptcy and foreclosure in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
• A grandmother in North Hollywood, Calif., battling health issues, raising two young grandsons and relying on public transportation for routine trips for shopping, church and doctor visits.
• An Iraq War veteran in Dallas, Texas, recently home after two tours of duty, struggling to rebuild a life for his family while recovering from post-traumatic stress and a back injury.
• Family Promise, a nonprofit organization in Temple, Texas, dedicated to helping homeless families transition into independent living.
According to Michael Quinn, Caliber Collision vice president of industry & community relations, "Recycled Rides provides our associates with the opportunity to participate in our mission to give back to our communities. The technicians and staff members at each of Caliber’s participating locations not only donated their time to fix the vehicles but also solicited in-kind contributions from local businesses to donate parts, materials and services, as well as collected cash gifts and toys for each of the families."
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