National Auto Body Council

Tuesday is #GivingTuesday. Your donations to the NABC Recycled Rides and NABC F.R.E.E. programs can provide gas cards to a veteran receiving a car, help support a single mother reclaiming her life, teach first responders on life-saving education and more. Your donations help us serve thousands of families every year! https://lnkd.in/ex8_U8cP

It was a great day at the races honoring a deserving veteran! At the NHRA: Championship Drag Racing Nationals in Pomona, CA, the National Auto Body Council partnered with Gerber Collision & Glass, a NHRA sponsor, and GEICO to present a NABC Recycled Ride to US Army veteran Damielle Reynolds on the track. Damiellle, a single mother of a son with autism, will now be able to get to work, go back to school and take her son to medical appointments. Thanks to Enterprise for providing her a special gift, too.

The team at Discount Towing and Collision did a great job on their first National Auto Body Council Recycled Ride with GEICO. Congratulations to Yuneisy Ovens Hernandez on your new vehicle! https://lnkd.in/e6WyhJxZ

Today and every day, the National Auto Body Council salutes those who are serving or have served our country. Thank you to our NABC members, partners and supporters who make this possible.

Today and every day, the National Auto Body Council salutes those who are serving or have served our country. Thank you to our NABC members, partners and supporters who make this possible.

Meet Robert Oliverez, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient who received a National Auto Body Council Recycled Ride in 2016 that was donated by GEICO and refurbished by Service King (Crash Champions Collision Repair. He's been using the vehicle to serve other veterans in need and volunteering with the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Today, he is the national commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Since coming home in 2004 after three tours in Iraq, Oliverez has devoted himself to helping other veterans recovering the emotional and physical toll of war. It is a labor of love and dedication. Oliverez was an infantryman for the U. S. Marine Corps. When an IED exploded near him, he caught shrapnel in his leg and arm, injuries which still cause constant pain 20 years later. Despite his injuries, this Marine sergeant stayed with his troops to finish his tour. He was awarded the Purple Heart. When he returned home, he found work, but his purpose in life was helping other injured veterans recover. “There are a lot of them who come home feeling empty,” Oliverez explains. “They lose their sense of worth when they return to civilian life.” He joined the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Oliverez, who lives in Marysville, WA., north of Seattle, would get in his “beater” car and visit any veteran in need. That was, whenever his car was working. Reliable transportation was out of his reach. In 2016, the local commander brought his service to the attention of the NABC Recycled Rides® program, which works with insurers, collision shops and non-profits to find veterans and others in need and present them with reliable transportation. GEICO donated a 2013 Scion xB, the team at a Service King (now Crash Champions) collision repair center refurbished it, and, on June 29, 2016, NABC Recycled Rides® presented Robert Oliverez with the car he would use for the next eight years to fulfill his commitment to his fellow veterans. “I was able to travel more to see my fellow veterans, and also save money on fuel and repairs, and visit my children more frequently,” says Oliverez. The donated car also helped him finish his degree in communications and public relations from Skagit Valley College. If a veteran needs clothing or food, or medical or legal help, he makes it happen. Oliverez served in several roles on his way to becoming commander of Purple Heart Chapter 12 in Seattle and commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Every position he has held is volunteer. “I was told of a Marine veteran who was contemplating suicide,” he recalls. “I jumped in the Scion and drove to him. We talked about how his life was worth something and how important it was for his child to grow up with a parent. Not only were we able to save a life, we have watched as this veteran started college and began living a positive life.” It is a positive life that Robert Oliverez models for all Purple Heart medal recipients.

Thank you to April Lausch for another great National Auto Body Council FREE event!

NABC recognizes the 6,000th first responder to participate in the NABC F.R.E.E. program -- Derek Farris, a full-time firefighter/EMT with the Piperton Fire Department and a U.S. Army National Guard veteran. Pinnacle Financial Partners hosted the event and Allstate and Farmers Insurance donated the vehicles, Copart provided towing, and Lucid Motors brought an EV for demonstration.

Andrew Watson Lewis is a single father of one child. He served in the U.S. Marines from 1995 to 2000. Among his awards earned were five certificates of accommodations, as well as the Marines’Good Conduct Medal. He now works at the VA helping other veterans. He received a National Auto Body Council Recycled Ride donated by GEICO and refurbished by Benners Auto Body. #veterans  

Congratulations to U.S. Army veteran Darlene Wilson of Harrisburg, PA, who received a refurbished 2019 Hyundai Tucscon donated by Allstate and repaired by RJ Sell’s Body Shop. #veterans #nabrecycledrides #army https://lnkd.in/eX6iXMBu