HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – December 19, 2012 – The Collision Repair Education Foundation today announced that Alcoa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alcoa, the world’s leading aluminum company, awarded the Collision Repair Education Foundation a $40,000 grant that will provide educational and aluminum repair training to post-secondary collision instructors and students. Collision instructors and students will have the opportunity to apply for the aluminum repair training grant as part of the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s spring 2013 student scholarship/tool grant opportunities. Seventeen collision instructor/student pairs will be selected to attend aluminum repair technical training at the I-CAR Tech Centre in Appleton, WI during the summer of 2013.
”The work of the Collision Repair Education Foundation is spot-on with our desire to educate and train people for important STEM-related trades including automotive repair,” said Randall Scheps, Director of Marketing for Alcoa Automotive. “As the mix of materials in this market continues to change as consumers seek more fuel efficient vehicles, this work is even more important. Though it will also make it evident that working with and repairing aluminum is actually no more difficult that any other material – it’s just different,” added Scheps.
Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director Clark Plucinski noted, “As more and more of today’s and future vehicles are being constructed with aluminum, it is crucial that repair professionals complete aluminum repair technical training in order to repair consumer’s collision damaged properly. Through this Alcoa grant, not only will instructors gain technical training that they can bring back to their classroom for additional students but the students will have completed industry recognized, I-CAR aluminum repair training making them more employable to the industry. I thank Alcoa for their support and we look forward to working together with them and I-CAR on training the future repair professionals of the collision industry.”
Additional information on Alcoa can be found at www.alcoa.com. Collision Repair Education Foundation spring 2013 scholarship and tool grant applications will be available online at www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org in early January. For additional questions about the aluminum training grant and/or the Collision Repair Education Foundation can be directed to Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode at 847.463.5244 or Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org.
About Alcoa Foundation
Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., with assets of approximately US$446 million. Founded more than 50 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than US$550 million since 1952. In 2011, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than US$20 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships, engaging its people to improve the environment and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their energy, passion and purpose to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2011, a record 56 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,200 events across 24 countries, reaching 81,000 children, serving 9,000 meals, planting 34,000 trees and supporting 1,800 nonprofit organizations. More information can be found at www.alcoafoundation.com.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 11 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.
About I-CAR
I-CAR, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, was founded in 1979 by the collision repair Inter-Industry as not-for-profit training organization. For more than 30 years, I-CAR has developed and delivered the highest-quality technical training to professionals in all areas of collision repair through its vast network of dedicated instructors and volunteers. I-CAR offers a variety of training options through its flagship I-CAR® Professional Development Program™ (PDP) and recognizes training accomplishments through the industry-known I-CAR Gold Class Professionals® and I-CAR Platinum Individual® recognition programs. The PDP offers a comprehensive, performance-focused training experience, providing industry professionals the knowledge required to perform successfully in their specific roles. It offers an opportunity to progress, over the course of one’s career, by building on prior levels of experience and training, and the knowledge that comes from them. More information can be found at www.i-car.com.
