April 11, 2013—The Collision Repair Education Foundation will donate 100 one-year I-CAR curriculum grants to public post-secondary schools in 2013, the organization announced Wednesday.
The Education Foundation said the I-CAR curriculum grants, valued at roughly $500,000, will assist post-secondary schools with budget constraints, and provide students access to the new I-CAR Professional Development Program-Education Edition.
“Curriculum is the foundation to any collision repair training program, and it is very unsettling to see that when school budgets get cut, curriculum budgets also get cut,” said Clark Plucinski, executive director of the Education Foundation. “If schools do not have even the basic curriculum to teach, students are missing out on a consistent and thorough learning experience. I applaud I-CAR for taking the initiative in getting curriculum in the hands of the colleges across the country. This will benefit the collision students studying in those programs greatly.”
The Education Foundation said the grants are funded through donations from I-CAR. In 2012, I-CAR pledged to donate $1 to the Education Foundation for every I-CAR class attended. The initiative resulted in a $200,000 donation to the Education Foundation—the largest monetary donation the organization has received since its founding in 1991.
“I-CAR is thankful to the Inter-Industry for making this donation possible,” said John Van Alstyne, president and CEO of I-CAR. “The Collision Repair Education Foundation and I-CAR foster a partnership that supports education for the entire inter-industry, and this donation will allow the Education Foundation to continue advancing its mission in a meaningful way.”
To be eligible for the curriculum grants, public post-secondary schools must complete the Education Foundation’s 2013 Ultimate Collision Education Makeover grant application, which is available online at collisioneducationfoundation.org. Grant applications are due May 31. Winners will be selected by the Education Foundation’s board of trustees this summer.
