Hoffman Estates, IL- October 2, 2013 – Arlington Heights Ford of Arlington Heights, Illinois has donated $45,000 (total) in parts to York Community High School (Elmhurst, IL) and Kennedy King College (Chicago, IL) through the Collision Repair Education Foundation. Thanks to this gift, the students of both of these schools will have the opportunity to practice collision repair on current model vehicle parts.
Arlington Heights Ford General Manage Tony Guido noted, “We are always willing to help educate and promote young technicians. We need young people who are willing to get into the automotive collision and service industry. Hands on is always the best experience.”
“This donation was something that I really did not expect,” noted Kennedy King College Collision Instructor Kenneth McMillian. “The donation of parts has really brought our collision courses to life. We received door skins, quarter panel, front rails, hoods, bumper covers, bumpers, bumper fascias, core supports, etc. Through this donation we can now give hands on practicum in real time on what is being lectured in the class room. Thank you to Arlington Heights Ford and the Collision Repair Education Foundation.”
“The Collision Repair Education Foundation has begun efforts to reach out to individual dealerships and dealership groups as the thousands upon thousands of dollars in parts that many are scrapping each month are great donations for local high school and college collision school programs,” said Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode. “These current model vehicle parts are great practice material for the students and we want to end the days of collision instructor ‘dumpster diving’ by helping to connect the dealerships with local schools. I would like to thank Arlington Heights Ford for their parts donations to local Chicago land schools and we look forward to showcasing this dealership and others as examples of how we can turn ‘garbage’ into ‘gold’ for collision programs across the country.”
For additional information about Arlington Height Ford visit www.AHFord.com. Industry members and companies interested in supporting high school and college collision school programs, instructors, and students through monetary and/or in-kind product donations should contact Director of Development, Brandon Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org or 847-463-5244.
