The National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides™ program works with insurance companies, body shops, vendors and more to provide renovated cars to those who need it.

“The Recycled Rides program is an amazing collaborative effort for the collision repair industry,” says Linda Sulkala, National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program manager. “We collaborate with insurers, body shops, parts vendors, schools, everybody. We have a great wealth of membership we can call upon to help the mission of the National Auto Body Council.”

The body shops, parts vendors, paint shops and more donate their time, labor and equipment while repairing vehicles for the Recycled Rides program. State Farm^® partners with the National Auto Body Council to provide vehicles for the Recycled Rides program.

Eric Showalter, lead collision repair instructor at Washburn Institute of Technology in Topeka, Kan., teaches students the skills needed in the car repair world. His shop works on cars for Recycled Rides recipients.

“Anything we receive for Recycled Rides goes back on the street,” Eric says. “Working on those cars is training for our students to build their skills and confidence.”

Students in the program get hands-on instruction from people in the car repair field. They also participate on the committee that reviews applications for the refurbished cars.

“We’re building hands-on skillsets for automotive technicians, but we’re also building community service, outreach and connecting them with student ambassadors,” Eric says.

Once the car has been found and repaired, a recipient is chosen.

Samantha Brooks, Impact Living Services site supervisor for Harrisonburg, Va., works with at-risk youth from the foster care system in her area. Impact Living Services specifically works with children who age-out of foster care at 18, but choose to stay in the system until they turn 21.

“We take youth that are eligible and have a certain level of responsibility and independence. Once they are accepted, we get them an apartment and help them set goals. For a lot of them, it’s the first place they can call their own. Foster care is not something any child chooses, so for the first time, they are making a choice to be somewhere purposefully,” Samantha says.

Samantha says most youth rely on public transportation for daily needs, such as grocery shopping and getting to work or school. For those in a smaller area or who have to travel farther, a car would be helpful.

“Having a car would be very empowering for a lot of them,” Samantha says. She learned of the Recycled Rides program, and had a candidate in mind.

“William is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. He will do anything for anyone. He’s a completely selfless, generous human being. He’s had a lot taken from him in his life. I think sometimes the universe gives back what it has taken from you, and I think this is one of the ways he’s able to receive good will and fortune,” Samantha says.

The 20-year-old had a 1986 Chevrolet Impala that was not reliable to get him to school and work.

“This brings a smile to my face,” William Ritchie says. “No matter who you are or where you are, there is a community to help you out. You are never alone.”

Thanks to the support of State Farm, SkillsUSA will focus on instructor training that helps grow its local chapters. Instructors will receive the latest information and tools in employability skills training, leadership development and teaching strategies.

State Farm is supporting:

• SkillsUSA’s Engage training for teachers at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in June 2019
• Ongoing workshops on educational resources including the SkillsUSA Career Essentials suite, SkillsUSA’s flagship curriculum for middle school, high school, college/postsecondary and adult learners
• Materials and instruction at the 2019 Call to Action session, held exclusively for over 600 SkillsUSA instructors at the NLSC
• A teacher track during the Washington Leadership Training Institute in Washington, D.C., attended by SkillsUSA instructors from 28 states, in September 2019

In addition, SkillsUSA Championships supported by State Farm will include the 2019 Auto Refinishing, Collision Repair and Collision Damage Appraisal competitions, in which national competitors will test their skills against other students and the clock to industry standards for entry-level employees in these fields. State Farm support also includes a Prize Equity Fund for leadership events and a sector sponsorship for the transportation cluster at the national championships.

State Farm Insurance Companies, headquartered in Bloomington, Ill., has been a SkillsUSA supporter for 20 years with a total investment of over $2.8 million.

“SkillsUSA salutes State Farm for supporting our nation’s top career and technical education programs as we work to prepare career-ready students,” says SkillsUSA’s executive director, Timothy Lawrence. “SkillsUSA is a verified talent pipeline and skills gap solution that graduates 100,000 career-ready SkillsUSA students each year. Our organization lifts up and recognizes students and provides much-needed support for their teachers to ensure America has a future skilled workforce. We could not deliver our crucial mission without companies like State Farm working alongside us.”

“It is extremely important to have highly skilled technicians in body shops across the nation writing collision damage appraisals, repairing the vehicles and refinishing them,” says State Farm Senior Vice President, Property and Casualty Claims, Robert Yi. “The SkillsUSA Championships set industry standards for students and educators and help to ensure that students graduating into these professions possess the knowledge and skills to be successful in their craft.”

For more about the 2019 SkillsUSA Championships, visit: https://www.skillsusa.org/competitions/skillsusa-championships/.

For more information about SkillsUSA, contact:

• Jane A. DeShong Short, Program Manager, Public Relations/Communications, Phone: 703-737-0612
• Karen Kitzel, Program Manager, Public Relations/Communications, Phone: 703-737-0607