Car Presentation to Recipients Took Place Friday, June 4 at G&C Auto Body in Santa Rosa, CA
MEDIA NOTE: Photos and video from the NABC Recycled Rides® Presentation are available
SANTA ROSA, CA (June 14, 2021) – On Friday, June 4, three deserving Northern California recipients experienced a life-changing event – the presentation of vehicles to provide them independence and the ability to work and take care of their families – thanks to the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides® program along with car donors Allstate, repairer G&C Auto Body and automotive refinish coatings partner PPG.
The presentation was held at G&C Auto Body in Santa Rosa, CA. This marked the company’s 196th presentation of vehicle to a family in need since 2013. The deserving recipients were selected by the Crozat Family Foundation, which was created by G&C Auto Body Founder Gene Crozat to give back to the community.
“My dad started this – he was a car guy and he was always passionate about helping people in the community,” said Shawn Crozat, CEO of G&C Auto Body. “He saw a need in our community and he created the Crozat Family Foundation to help. We’re excited to get over the 200 cars donated milestone. Giving back is good for business and supports our culture of caring for our team members and our customers. It’s amazing to see technicians donate their time on these projects. It’s also important for our community — they support us and it is our responsibility to give back to them.”
The recipients included:
- Ami, who is now the proud owner of a 2019 Nissan Kicks, is a single mom working full time to support her four children. Her vehicle recently broke down and she has been able to get rides from friends. She was nominated by her boss and seems to be a very hard worker. Ami had a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer, she just got it paid off this year. The transmission went out and it is no longer operable leaving Ami with no form of transportation. The gift of reliable transportation will help her maintain employment and the stability in her household as a single mom to four.
- Brooke, who received a 2017 Honda Accord, is a single mom to a child with some medical needs. She moved back to Ukiah after fleeing an abusive relationship with her now ex-partner from Minnesota. Brooke had to leave her work at the beginning of Covid due to issues with childcare and has employment waiting for her once she has childcare again. Now that childcare is available, transportation has become an issue. Her car has been losing power on the freeway and has become unreliable for getting to work or getting her son to daycare. Having reliable transportation to get her son to daycare, herself to work and take care of her son’s medical will mean the world for her independence and success.
- Nadia, who was presented a 2018 Nissan Sentra, has been on her own since high school graduation, when she was kicked out of her parent’s house. Because she was 18 and had a full-time job, they thought she was equipped to take care of herself. After living in her car for about a year and maintaining a full-time job at Starbucks, her boss told her about Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) and encouraged her to reach out to them. She has been renting from SAY since August of 2020. As she was moving into housing with SAY her car broke down. She has a second job, which is part-time, and is trying to save for a reliable vehicle. The presentation of a reliable car will allow Nadia to pursue her dream of attending SRJC for nursing. It also will help her get to medical appointments for her diabetes.
The team at G&C Auto Body also provided each recipient with $200 grocery cards for the next six months, $200 gas cards for the next six months, six months of insurance through Allstate Memmer Insurance Agency and a one-time $500 gift card for Target.
PPG, a global leader in paints, coatings and specialty materials and longtime partner with G&C Auto Body, supplies all of the automotive refinish paint and equipment for the 20 G&C Auto Body locations throughout Northern California. The three vehicles were restored to showroom quality by G&C Auto Body, which used PPG ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne basecoat paint system. The system is engineered to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and deliver an accurate color formula, excellent hiding power and long-term durability.
“At PPG, our purpose to protect and beautify the world guides our actions in serving our communities and neighbors,” said Tom Wolfe, PPG strategic accounts director, automotive refinish sales. “We have had long-standing business partnerships with both G&C Auto Body and the NABC® for many years, and our common goal of positively impacting deserving families within our local communities makes our partnerships that much more meaningful.”
“What a tremendous honor to join the Crozat family and G&C Auto Body in giving so generously to their community,” said Bill Garoutte, president and CEO of the National Auto Body Council®. “We offer congratulations to G&C Auto Body on this incredible milestone of presenting 196 vehicles to community members in need and thank them for their commitment to and support of this program.”
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 2,600 vehicles valued at more than $36 million.
About G&C Auto Body and the Crozat Family Foundation
G & C Auto Body was founded in 1972, as the company has grown so has the owner’s generosity. They founded the Crozat Family Foundation as a way of giving back to the community that has supported them as a local business. G&C Auto Body has been sponsoring car giveaways through its nonprofit charity organization, The Crozat Family Foundation, since 2013. G & C Auto Body has been providing funding and resources to not only purchase and refurbish vehicles but to provide additional monetary help to aid in the cost of vehicle ownership and operation. G&C Auto Body and the Crozat Family Foundation has given away 196 vehicles since 2013 and works diligently to help individuals and families who have hit a pot hole get back on the road of life with a reliable transportation. G&C Auto Body is now spreading the love even further by sponsoring car giveaways in any community that has a G&C Auto Body location. We welcome you to nominate a family in need today by simply going www.gandcautobody.com and click the tab to nominate/apply at the bottom on the home page. We thank you for your help and continued support in our mission of loving fellow man
ABOUT PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD®
At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for more than 135 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of $13.8 billion in 2020. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL AUTO BODY COUNCIL®
The National Auto Body Council®, which celebrated its’ 25th anniversary in 2020, 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 2,600 vehicles, provided extrication opportunities for more than 3,800 First Responders and contributed to thousands of distracted driving pledges in communities through NABC Recycled Rides®, NABC First Responder Emergency Extrication (F.R.E.E.™) and the NABC Distracted Driving Initiative™. 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.
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