NABC® Members Allstate and Schaefer Autobody Center Donate Vehicle to Military Member and His Family through the NABC Recycled Rides® Program

Presentation Took Place Recently in O’Fallon, IL

Media Note: Photos from the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation are available HERE.

Port Charlotte, FL – (December 9, 2024) –Recently, a National Guard member and his family experienced a life-changing event – the presentation of a vehicle to provide him and his family greater independence and the ability to get to work and to events for the children – thanks to the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides® program along with vehicle donor Allstate and collision repair partner Schaefer Autobody of O’Fallon, IL.

NABC®, Allstate and Schaefer presented a fully refurbished 2020 Ford Fusion SEL to Brandon Sides of Cape Girardeau, MO, a corporal in the Missouri National Guard and a married father of three.  Corporal Sides was nominated by Mark Lear, the soldier and family readiness group leader of the Family Assistance Center at the Bridgeton Armory of the Missouri National Guard.

Corporal Sides has been serving in the Missouri National Guard since January 2011, including one deployment to Kuwait for Operation Spartan Shield. Cpl. Sides was recently promoted to a leadership role as an NCO of the 3175th Military Police Company. The family’s vehicle was totaled in an accident last year. Attempts to find a replacement vehicle proved to be too much of a financial burden.

“It means a great deal to have reliable and affordable transportation for my family,” Cpl. Sides said. “It will be wonderful to see my children taking part in activities, sports and play dates. We are immensely grateful for the opportunity to see our family improve their standard of living and expand their life experiences with this vehicle.”

Schaefer Autobody was founded 39 years ago and expanded to 14 locations before becoming a division of Quality Collision Group last year. The founding family remains involved.  Quality Collision Group is on a mission to set a new standard for customer care and a relentless pursuit of quality in every repair.

NABC Recycled Rides® is a unique program in which businesses representing all facets of the collision repair industry team up to repair and donate vehicles to individuals and families in need of reliable transportation. Since the inception of the NABC Recycled Rides® program in 2007, members of the National Auto Body Council® have donated more than 3,300 vehicles valued at some $47 million.

Additional partners in the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation included Sunset Ford, SOS, Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, Copart, and Enterprise.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL AUTO BODY COUNCIL®

The National Auto Body Council® is is the premier organization of collision industry partners dedicated to strategic networking opportunities that positively change lives in the communities we serve. The collaborative membership of the National Auto Body Council® has gifted more than 3,500 vehicles and provided extrication opportunities for some 6,000 First Responders in communities around the country through NABC Recycled Rides®, NABC First Responder Emergency Extrication (F.R.E.E.™) and the NABC® Community Impact program. That effort equates to a 4:1 ROI in dollar value delivered from NABC® membership dollars. The NABC Changing and Saving Lives Foundation, a 501c3 organization, is committed to the goal of driving change for veterans, military members, first responders and families in need, while harnessing the power of the collective membership of the collision repair industry to positively impact communities where we live and work. As demand for NABC® programs like NABC Recycled Rides® and NABC F.R.E.E.™ grows, so do the needs for resources to manage these important programs. Being able to pursue grants, gifts and donations allows NABC to expand these programs to serve those in need and help communities where we live and work. For more information, visit www.NationalautoBodyCouncil.org.