NABC® Members Travelers and CARSTAR Change a U.S. Army Veteran’s Life with the Donation of a Refurbished Vehicle through the NABC Recycled Rides® Program

The NABC Recycled Rides® Presentation Took Place Recently in Amherst, New York.

MEDIA NOTE: Photos from the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation are available HERE.

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL  (March 4, 2025) – On Thursday, February 27, a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army experienced a life-changing event – the presentation of a vehicle to give him the ability to get to and from medical treatments and his job – thanks to the NABC Recycled Rides®  program along with car donor Travelers and collision repair partner CARSTAR. The presentation took place at the CARSTAR collision center in Amherst, NY.

NABC®, CARSTAR and Travelers presented a beautifully refurbished 2018 Kia Sportage LX to Joseph Loper, who served three years in the U.S. Army. His job requires him to drive, but he has had to get to and from work with the help of friends and family. The NABC Recycled Rides® donated vehicle is sure to make his life easier, especially in the case of work emergencies in the middle of the night, which occur because he works a maintenance position. Loper also requires ongoing medical treatments and often has to use expensive rideshares.

Loper was nominated by his employer, the WNY Veterans Housing Coalition. His nominator says that Loper has overcome many obstacles and is a trusted member of the housing coalition staff, but that buying a vehicle was out of reach for him at this time.

CARSTAR is North America’s largest multi-shop operator network of independently owned collision repair facilities.  CARSTAR Amherst is I-CAR Gold certified and is a AAA approved repair facility.

Travelers has been a longtime supporter of the NABC Recycled Rides program, donating vehicles to the program for the last 10 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 the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation included Northtown Automotive, NAPA, Car Quest, O’Reilly, Amherst Automotive, 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 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.