Press Release

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – November 5, 2015 – The Collision Repair Education Foundation’s 2015 Ultimate Collision Education Makeover school grant winners were announced at the organization’s annual industry reception held during the SEMA show in Las Vegas where over $250,000 in grants were awarded. Over 140 high school and college collision school programs from across the country applied for this grant and each of the 2015 winning schools will have their $50,000 wish list fulfilled through the Collision Repair Education Foundation and industry donors/supporters. The Makeover program has given out over $3 million in donations to applicant schools since 2009.

2015 Secondary Ultimate Collision Education Makeover Grant made possible by Allstate Insurance
East Valley Institute of Technology (Mesa, AZ)

2015 Post-Secondary Ultimate Collision Education Makeover Grant made possible by State Farm Insurance
Saint Cloud Technical and Community College (Saint Cloud, MN)

In addition to the secondary and post-secondary awards, there were two $50,000 grants that were awarded to specific regions of the country.
2015 Dallas Makeover Grant
Texas State Technical College (Waco, TX)

The Dallas Makeover Grant was sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, Caliber Collision, GEICO, Herb’s Collision and Nationwide Insurance.

2015 Atlanta I-CAR Committee Makeover Grant in Conjunction with Industry Partners
Athens Technical College (Athens, GA)

The award in Atlanta was sponsored by ABRA Auto Body & Glass; Allstate; American Family Insurance; Axalta; Caliber Collision; CCC Information Services; Classic Collision; Enterprise; Farmers Insurance; Finishmaster; Georgia Farm Bureau; Hendrick Automotive; IAAI; I-CAR; Liberty Mutual Insurance; LKQ/Keystone; Nalley Group; Rimkus; Progressive Insurance; Safeco; Service King; Sherwin Williams; and Sports and Imports.

The Collision Repair Education Foundation also awarded several runner-up Makeover grants and each of these schools will have $5,000-$12,500 of their collision program wish lists fulfilled:

2015 Ultimate Collision Education Makeover Secondary Runner-Up School Recipients
$10,000 Silicon Valley Career Technical Education (San Jose, CA)
$10,000 Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School (South Easton, MA)

2015 Ultimate Collision Education Makeover Post-Secondary Runner-Up School Recipients
$12,500 College of Lake County (Grayslake, IL)
$7,500 Pulaski Tech (North Little Rock, AR)

The goal of the Ultimate Collision Education Makeover grant is to honor a school that has been doing an outstanding job in educating students in collision repair, but needs some financial assistance to improve their program’s teaching materials and equipment. With strained school budgets, the Education Foundation and industry supporters have the opportunity to bridge the program’s financial gap and to make a difference in the lives of the students studying collision repair. As part of the Makeover grant application, schools provide an itemized wish list which can include any tools, supplies, and equipment that are needed by the collision program.

Companies interested in sponsoring a 2016 Makeover grant and questions regarding the Education Foundation’s efforts to support the future of the collision industry should contact Education Foundation Director of Development, Brandon Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org or 847.463.5244.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – November 5, 2015 – The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced the winners of GEICO’s collision school grants for 2015:
Cuesta College (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
Eastfield College (Mesquite, Texas)
Monroe Tech Center (Leesburg, Va.)
Tidewater Community College (Chesapeake, Va.)

Each of the winning schools applied for a grant from the Ultimate Collision Education Makeover program, and each will receive $5,500 to purchase items off their collision tool, equipment and supply wish list from their application.

The winners were named Nov. 3 at the Education Foundation’s industry reception held at SEMA in Las Vegas, Nev. SEMA is the automotive industry’s specialty products trade event.

“We are honored to support training in the collision repair industry,” said Bill DeGrocco, assistant vice president of GEICO. “With the continued complexity of today’s automobile we recognize the importance of developing the appropriate skills, have the proper equipment and technical education in auto collision repair. GEICO is happy to support these schools.”

About GEICO
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies and is the second-largest private passenger auto insurance company in the United States. GEICO provides millions of auto insurance quotes to U.S. drivers annually. The company is pleased to serve more than 13 million private passenger customers and insures more than 22 million vehicles (auto & cycle).

GEICO’s online service center helps policyholders take care of policy sales, policy changes, claims reporting and to print insurance ID cards.

GEICO also provides quotes on motorcycle insurance, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), travel trailers and motorhomes (RVs). Coverage for boats, life, homes and apartments is written by non-affiliated insurance companies and is secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection are also available. For more information, go to www.geico.com.

To help raise additional grant funds to assist high school and college collision school programs, for every $50 tax-deductible donation to the Collision Repair Education Foundation by 12/31/15, a donor has the option to receive a free RedKap crew shirt as a “thank you” for the support. Crew shirts will be ordered and mailed to those who participate after the New Year. Click on the link below to make a donation and enter your crew shirt size(s). Thank you for supporting the future of the industry.

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HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – October 23, 2015 – The Collision Repair Education Foundation today announced that Alcoa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alcoa, a global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and manufacturing, awarded the Collision Repair Education Foundation a $75,000 grant that will provide aluminum repair focused training and technical presentations to high school and college collision school instructors. Working together with industry partners, the Collision Repair Education Foundation will bring over 50 collision school instructors into the Chicago land area in March 2016 for several days of “train the trainer” aluminum repair technical training as this group is educating the future repair professionals of the collision industry. As more and more of today’s and future vehicles are being constructed with aluminum, it is crucial that current and future repair professionals complete aluminum repair technical training in order to repair consumer’s collision damaged properly.

“Alcoa Foundation seeks solutions that reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency, and minimize the environmental footprint of mass transportation,” said Alice Truscott, Program Manager, Alcoa Foundation. “As aluminum usage becomes more popular in the making of cars with these very sustainable properties, we value partnerships with organizations like Collision Repair Education Foundation that will help prepare the workforce.”

Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode noted, “We are very appreciative of Alcoa Foundation’s continued support and willingness to work together on providing collision school instructors with technical information about aluminum repair training. These instructors are able to bring this knowledge back to their classrooms and help students understand that repairing aluminum isn’t difficult, it’s just different.”

Additional information on Alcoa Foundation can be found at www.alcoafoundation.com. 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 $460 million. Founded 63 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than $615 million . In 2014, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than $22 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships to improve the environment and educate tomorrow’s leaders for careers in manufacturing and engineering. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their talents and time to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the Company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2014, 58 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,000 events across 24 countries, benefiting more than 700,000 people and 500 nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.alcoafoundation.com and follow @AlcoaFoundation on Twitter.

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The Collision Repair Education Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to securing donations that support philanthropic and collision repair education activities that promote and enhance career opportunities in the industry. For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation visit us online: www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – September 28, 2015– Continuing their efforts to help connect high school and college collision students and industry employers, the Collision Repair Education Foundation will be hosting their next collision career fair in the Salt Lake City area on Wednesday, October 21st at Granger High School (West Valley, UT). 300 local high school and college collision students are scheduled to attend this event, distribute resumes, meet with local companies looking to employ them, and be reminded that there is an industry in need of motivated, hard-working entry-level students.

The Larry H. Miller Group is the event’s co-host sponsor and with this event being open to all industry members to participate, those seeking entry-level collision students are encouraged to contact the Education Foundation for sponsorship and participation information. Other industry participants for this career fair include ABRA Auto Body & Glass, Gerber Collision & Glass, LKQ Corporation, and Service King Collision Repair Centers. Sponsorship funds raised through this and other career fairs assist the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s efforts to ensure that collision school programs have the needed tools, equipment, and supplies to graduate qualified and skilled entry-level employees that are ready for industry employment.

Collision Repair Education Foundation Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode noted, “We would like to thank the Larry H. Miller Group for their leading efforts in helping to organize this collision career fair. What is to be noticed about these career fairs is how industry competitors are coming together to show students that they are needed and there are many different career paths a student can take within this industry. The Education Foundation will soon be releasing its’ schedule of 2016 nationwide career fairs and the Salt Lake City event will be another example of how this organization can help transform the industry.”

Industry members interested in participating in this event should contact Director of Development, Brandon Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org or 847.463.5244.
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The Collision Repair Education Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting collision repair educational programs, schools, and students to create qualified, entry-level employees an connect them with an array of career opportunities. For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation visit us online at: www.CollisionEducationFoundation.org