MEDIA CONTACT:
Dale Ross
651.207.9652
dross@nationalautobodycouncil.org
PORT CHARLOTTE, FL (May 23, 2025) – On Thursday, May 22, a woman working hard to provide for her daughter while starting a new life in a new city received a life-changing gift—the donation of a beautifully refurbished vehicle to enable her to maintain the family’s mobility and freedom. The donation was made possible by the NABC Recycled Rides® program and NABC members, vehicle donor GEICO and collision repair partner Eagle Collision Repair Center.
The 2017 Honda Civic EX was donated by GEICO and beautifully refurbished by the expert technician at Eagle Collision in Houston. In a ceremony at the Eagle Collision Repair Center, the vehicle was presented to Cara Bayete, who recently moved to the Houston area with her daughter to start a new life. Bayete is working closely with Family Promise of Lake Houston to improve her situation and to help others. The high mileage family car has been unreliable and in constant need of repair, creating a financial burden. In the words of her nominator, “We are so proud of her here at Family Promise of Lake Houston. She has become a community advocate and is so deserving of a reliable vehicle to provide safe transportation for her and her family.”
GEICO, a Level One partner of the National Auto Body Council®, has donated more than 1,000 vehicles to individuals and organizations in need, making it the largest contributor of vehicles through NABC Recycled Rides®
Eagle Collison, an I-CAR Gold Certified repair facility, is independently owned. Eagle Collision has served the Houston area for nearly 20 years.
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 3,500 vehicles valued at some $51 million.
Additional partners in this presentation included Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, Copart, and Enterprise.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL AUTO BODY COUNCIL®
The National Auto Body Council® 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 training 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.
