This November, CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts will honor America’s active duty and military veterans with a special celebration for National Military Month. It will include local market festivities for Veterans Day and special fundraising initiatives to help families of those serving the country.
CARSTAR, the nation’s largest family of auto body repair experts, is working with national and local military support groups at locations around the country. These CARSTAR stores will be participating in Veterans Day parades, hosting celebrations for local military members and saluting the many contributions made by America’s military members. CARSTAR is working with select national military support organizations including the VFW, Fisher House, VA hospitals as well as local Adopt a Troop campaigns.
Key events include:
Wicklunds CARSTAR Collision Center in Liberty, Mo., held a Military Appreciation Day on Nov. 4. The event included a 21-gun salute, food, beverages, door prizes and free Kansas City Royals t-shirts. Wicklunds CARSTAR also gave away a 1998 Aerostar van with a wheelchair lift to a disabled veteran with a spinal cord injury in partnership with Cars 4 Heroes.
In Seattle, the 18 CARSTAR stores in the Puget Sound area are providing active duty military members and veterans with “winter readiness checks” to prepare their vehicles for driving in cold, wet weather. This includes checking headlights and tail lights, fluids and air systems.
In addition to the regional effort, the local CARSTAR stores joined together to give a very deserving veteran and single mother of three the gift of transportation. Three years ago Army Staff Sergeant Sandra Prouty-Lemleys was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer and just last Christmas was informed she had pancreatic cancer as well. The prognosis was bleak and with no vehicle to get to and from treatment, it didn’t look to get better anytime soon. That is where insurance company, Esurance, and CARSTAR stepped-in to help. Esurance donated a salvage van and CARSTAR immediately got to the task of making it like new again. The repairs were performed at Exhibition CARSTAR as well as at Bjorneby’s Des Moines CARSTAR while the whole CARSTAR community chipped in and supported the project.
“This is going to give us freedom that we haven’t had in a very long time,” said Sandra during the emotional reveal. An active member in the community, Prouty-Lemleys vowed to not only use the new van to drive herself to the doctors but also to give rides to her fellow church members in need.
As part of the Chicagoland CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts Military Month activities, Wally’s CARSTAR in Des Plaines, Ill., hosted a postcard drive to send letters of thanks and praise to active military member serving overseas. Sherri Slater, owner of Wally’s CARSTAR, partnered with the Des Plaines VFW Post 2992 to visit local schools and talk to student about “Returning the Favor” to members of the military by participating in the postcard drive.
“It was wonderful to be able to provide our community and school children with a means to share their thoughts with our soldiers,” said Slater.
“You can’t imagine how nice it is to be serving over in a foreign country and to receive letters of thanks from children,” said Mike Lake of VFW Post 2992.
At Marshall’s Autobody CARSTAR in Billerica, Mass., outside of Boston, Jim Marshall is working with the local VFW to help raise money to provide iPods, iPads and iTunes gift cards to wounded veterans. The technology allows them to stay in touch with friends and family, enjoy entertainment, and stay informed.
In the past 20 years, CARSTAR has worked closely with military support groups and other philanthropic groups to help repair vehicles for families in need.
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CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts