The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced that the application for their Ultimate Collision Education Makeover school grant is available for high school and postsecondary collision school programs. Now in its ninth year, the Makeover grant program provides awards of up to $50,000.
The foundation recommends that instructors begin the application process early, and encourages industry professionals to get involved with the Makeover grant by working with their local schools’ collision instructors to help them apply. The foundation will announce the winning schools during the SEMA show in Las Vegas in October.
The Makeover grant application is available online and is due by June 1. Industry members are encouraged to work with their local collision school programs to ensure that they apply by the deadline.
“School collision programs are facing tremendous budgetary pressure,” said Melissa Marscin, director of grant programs for the Collision Repair Education Foundation. “It is difficult for many to maintain their program at current capabilities, no less increase their abilities and improve the training they deliver to the industry’s future workforce. The Makeover grant program is designed to help collision schools get the much-needed tools, equipment and supplies they couldn’t get otherwise and increase their capabilities. Last year, every school that applied received some level of support through both grants and in-kind donations.”
Schools Classified into Three Tiers
The Makeover grant program incorporates the Collision School Career Readiness Benchmark that the foundation launched last year. Under the new program developed by the foundation, schools are classified into three tiers:
- Tier 1: Advanced
- Tier 2: Proficient
- Tier 3: Developing
The foundation will determine the designation based upon information provided by schools about the capabilities of their program detailed in the Collision Repair Education Makeover grant application. The criteria for each level includes the number of hours of instruction, curriculum in place, along with what tools, equipment and supplies a school uses to prepare their students for employment in the collision industry.
If there is something that a school needs to advance to the next level, the foundation’s grant application will allow a school to request that item. The goal is to help every school acquire the resources to eventually achieve a Tier 1: Advanced school designation. Schools at Tier 1 status can request support for items that further advance their programs.
The organization’s Board of Trustees Selection Committee will select the winners of the awards and determine what items off the wish lists each school will receive.
Since 2009, the foundation has doled out more than $4 million in cash and in-kind donations to schools through the grant, helping more than 25,000 collision students.
To get involved with the Collision Repair Education Foundation and join its efforts to support the future of the collision industry, contact Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at (847) 463-5244 or [email protected].
