NABC Recycled Ride® Program and Its Members Gift Refurbished Cars to Three Deserving Veterans and Single Mother in NABC® Day in Palm Springs

The Car Presentations Took Place Tuesday, January 16 at the NABC Changing and Saving Lives Golf Tournament at the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort.

MEDIA NOTE: Photos and video from the NABC Recycled Rides® Presentation are available (https://nabcmission.box.com/s/419q6mp871ljfjg9mhyvltjjueyu45v5)

PALM SPRINGS, CA (January 17, 2024) – On Wednesday, January 16, three Palm Springs-area veterans and a single mother were presented with refurbished donated vehicles, gifts certain to have an impact on the lives of these individuals in need.

The National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides® Program, working with generous vehicle donors Allstate, the Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club of Southern California, Hertz and collision repair partners Fix Auto Cathedral City, Fix Auto Palm Springs Seidner’s Collision of Fontana and Loma Linda, who refurbished the vehicles to like new condition.

The presentation was held at the NABC® Changing and Saving Lives Golf Fundraiser Presented by Hertz at the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort.

“There have been nearly 400 NABC Recycled Rides® presented in California since the program was founded,” said Dale Ross, program manager for NABC Recycled Rides®, at the event.  “That’s 400 families and thousands of lives we have been able to positively impact in hometowns throughout the state, thanks to our members who donated and refurbish these vehicles.”

The four recipients were: 

• Izeyah Torres, a U. S. Army veteran who served in Iraq.  He recovered from a period of homelessness and unemployment.  He went to school, learned a skill and found an apartment.  Mr. Torres has a good job now. The car will make him less reliant on public transportation and the kindness of friends.  His 2019 Hyundai Elantra was donated by Allstate and repaired by Fix Auto Cathedral City.  Allstate has donated more than 100 vehicles to the program and Fix Auto Cathedral City has revitalized seven of them.  The Sy Kaplan CA clinic nominated Mr. Torres for the program.
• Jennifer Guttierez Lopez, nominated by Variety—the Children’s Charity of the Desert, is a recent single mother of two, one of whom has special needs.  Ms. Lopez is his full-time caregiver.  This reliable car will allow her to travel to her son’s long-distance appointments and better care for her entire family.  Her 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe was donated by the Interinsurance Exchange of the Auto Club of Southern California, which has donated more than 75 cars.  It was refurbished by Seidner’s Collision Center of Loma Linda, the 35^th time it has made a donation of the time and skills of its employees.
• Miguel Ahumada. also nominated by the Sy Kaplan VA clinic, served four years in the U.S. Navy, during which time he received an award for heroism when he risked his life to save a sailor from an engine fire.  He has been a stay-at-home father for his and his wife’s three children.  The 2019 Hyundai Elantra he is receiving will replace a 17-year-old unreliable vehicle.  Hertz donated the car, one of many it has contributed to NABC Recycled Rides.  It was refurbished by Fix Auto Palm Springs.
• Frank Abney, Sr. is retired and single.  He was honorably discharged from the U. S. Army in 1971.  At the NABC Recycled Rides event, Mr. Abney received a 2021 Subaru Outback.  This vehicle, donated by the Auto Club and refurbished by Seidner’s Collision in Fontana, will aid him in his daily activities and make it possible for him to get to appointments and grocery shopping, and to visit his son, who lives 80 miles away.

“It’s just amazing to now have a safe, working car that I can use to take my kids to school and to doctors’ appointments,“ said Jennifer Lopez.

“We love this car! I appreciate everything everyone has done,” said Miguel Ahumada. “This car is going to make a big difference for my family, especially because my car is so old and not reliable. I really appreciate everyone—thank you all so much.”

“Since it became a part of NABC’s goal to change and save lives in 2007, the NABC Recycled Rides® program has presented more than 3,200 vehicles to people in need,” said Deborah Robinson, executive director of the NABC. “The entire collision industry has made this possible.”  She also noted that nearly 75 percent of recipients have been veterans.

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 3,200 vehicles valued at some $46 million.

Additional partners in the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation included Cars for Charity, Advanced Remarketing Services, Copart, Midway Car Rental, Hyundai of Inland Empire, Auto Glass Master, Randy from R&R Dents, Paintless Dent Repair, Hyundai of La Quinta, Big O Tires, and Dent Matters.

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 3,200 vehicles valued at some $46 million.

Additional partners in the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation included presenting sponsor Hertz, and Enterprise and the Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort.

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 3,200 vehicles, provided extrication opportunities for more than 6,000 First Responders and is helping educate students and adult drivers in communities around the country through NABC Recycled Rides®, NABC First Responder Emergency Extrication (F.R.E.E.™) and the NABC® Drive Out Distraction program. That effort equates to a 4:1 ROI in dollar value delivered from NABC® membership dollars. The National Auto Body Council® is changing the paradigm of how the collision industry works and is viewed. For more information, visit www.NationalautoBodyCouncil.org.