The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) announced that 41 secondary and post-secondary schools in the U.S. will benefit from Benchmark grants funded through the efforts of 12 I-CAR committees.

A variety of fundraising methods were employed, generating $131,250 in funds that will aid the industry’s future generation in becoming prepared for a career in collision repair. Eligibility for these awards was achieved by applying for CREF’s 2021 Collision School Career Readiness Benchmark Grant.

“In 2021, our I-CAR field team worked with CREF to develop a more strategic, disciplined approach to reach out and support more schools,” said Terry Ticel, I-CAR director, Field Sales. “This new approach gave our committees better insight and understanding of the Benchmark Grant process and its requirements. With this collaborative effort and data collection, we were better equipped to track and support the process and provide additional help to the schools for a better opportunity to receive additional funding. The fundraisers were determined by each of the participating committees and supported by their members and the CREF staff. These committees did an outstanding job in the support of their schools, giving them an additional financial infusion to fortify their programs to better educate and prepare their students for a career in the collision industry.”

Added CREF Managing Director Brandon Eckenrode, “The funding raised by these local volunteer I-CAR committees for their local collision programs is crucial for these programs to afford the needed tools, equipment and supplies which their budgets don’t always allow for. Thank you to all the committees who have been active at the local level organizing these fundraisers with CREF. The local collision students seeing and meeting the industry members in their market is essential to keeping the students motivated to stay within the industry. We look forward to collaborating with even more I-CAR committees in 2022.”

The Collision School Career Readiness Benchmark Grants recognize schools that excel at educating students in collision repair, but due to strained school budgets, the programs require additional financial assistance. Recipient schools use these funds to provide the tools, equipment and supplies necessary to enhance their students’ learning experience and elevate the caliber of their graduates, ensuring that graduates are prepared to successfully enter the workforce upon graduation. Applications for the 2022 Collision School Career Readiness Benchmark Grants will be available online in January 2022.

The 12 I-CAR committees and the grants they bestowed include:

Atlanta I-CAR Committee

• Athens Technical College (Athens, Ga.): $3,500
• Chattahoochee Technical College (Jasper, Ga.): $9,000
• Etowah High School (Woodstock, Ga.): $12,500
• Maxwell High School of Technology (Lawrenceville, Ga.): $3,000
• North Georgia Technical College (Clarkesville, Ga.): $5,000
• Paulding County High School (Dallas, Ga.): $10,000

Arizona I-CAR Committee

• East Valley Institute of Technology (Mesa, Ariz.): $2,500
• Gateway Community College – Central City Campus (Phoenix, Ariz.): $2,500
• West-MEC (Phoenix, Ariz.): $2,500

Broward County I-CAR Committee

• Sheridan Technical College (Hollywood, Fla.): $500

Columbus Collision Education Group

• EHOVE Career Center (Milan, Ohio): $500
• Fort Hayes Career Center (Columbus, Ohio): $500
• Miami Valley Career Center (Englewood, Ohio): $500
• Waite High School (Toledo, Ohio): $500
• Washington County Career Center (Marietta, Ohio): $500

Greater Philadelphia I-CAR Committee

• Berks Career & Technology Center (Oley, Pa.): $2,000
• Central Montco Technical High School (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.): $2,500
• Eastern Center for Arts & Technology (Willow Grove, Pa.): $4,000
• Forbes Road Career & Technology Center (Monroeville, Pa.): $3,000
• Lebanon County Career & Technology Center (Lebanon, Pa.): $500
• Middlesex County Vocational & Technical Schools (Piscataway, N.J.): $1,250
• Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center (New Kensington, Pa.): $4,000
• Rosedale Technical College (Pittsburgh, Pa.): $2,250
• Salem County Career & Technical High School (Woodstown, N.J.): $1,250

Indianapolis I-CAR Committee

• Prosser Career Education Center (New Albany, Ind.): $2,500
• Walker Career Center (Indianapolis, Ind.): $2,500

Knoxville I-CAR Committee

• TCAT (Knoxville, Tenn.): $2,000
• TCAT (Morristown, Tenn.): $2,000
• Greene Technical Center (Greeneville, Tenn.): $1,000

Minnesota State I-CAR Committee

• Hennepin Technical College (Eden Prairie, Minn.): $1,000
• Minnesota State College Southeast (Winona, Minn.): $1,000
• South Central College (North Mankato, Minn.): $1,000

Nashville I-CAR Committee

• Lincoln College of Technology (Nashville, Tenn.): $5,000
• Northwest High School (Clarksville, Tenn.): $4,500

Northern Virginia I-CAR Committee

• Dowell J. Howard Center (Winchester, Va.): $5,000
• Monroe Advanced Technical Academy (Leesburg, Va.): $5,000
• Tidewater Community College (Chesapeake, Va.): $3,000

Southern NJ I-CAR Committee

• Middlesex County Vocational & Technical Schools (Piscataway, N.J.): $4,000
• Salem County Career & Technical High School (Woodstown, N.J.): $7,000

St. Louis I-CAR Committee

• Lewis and Clark Career Center (St. Charles, Mo.): $3,500
• North Technical High School (Florissant, Mo.): $3,500
• South Technical High School (Sunset Hills, Mo.): $3,500

Industry members interested in supporting the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s efforts to assist secondary and post-secondary collision repair training programs should contact Brandon Eckenrode at (312) 231-0258 or [email protected]. Monetary donations can be made online.