Dec. 26, 2012—On Christmas Eve, Caliber Collision Centers donated a refurbished 2009 Honda Civic to the family of a young boy in Redlands, Calif., who is dealing with leukemia.
Caliber said 11-year-old boy Isaiah was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011 and has been undergoing treatment at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in California. But his family has not had a car and has been relying on other patients’ families to coordinate rides for frequent 100-mile round trips between their home and the hospital.
“Having to deal with a child’s life-threatening illness is difficult enough, but having to do so without having reliable transportation is unimaginable to those of us who take transportation for granted,” said David Goldstein, Vice President of Operations for Caliber. “Our goal at Caliber Collision is to repair vehicles to restore our customers to the rhythm of their lives, and we hope this vehicle will do the same for the Isaiah and his family.”
The vehicle, which was delivered to the family by someone dressed as Santa, was filled with gifts and toys donated by several local businesses in Redlands, Calif.
“This is awesome. We got a brand new car, we really needed it,” Isaiah said. “Thank you everyone. Have a very Merry Christmas and just live life to the fullest because life is awesome, so don't take anything for granted."
The Honda Civic, provided by the Automobile Club of Southern California and refurbished by Caliber’s technicians, was donated through the National Auto Body Council’s (NABC) 2012 Recycled Rides program, a national community service project that connects auto body repairers, automobile insurers, parts suppliers and other industry vendors to refurbish and donate vehicles to families in need. The vehicle marks Caliber’s 14th Recycled Rides donation this year.
“We are proud to partner with Caliber Collision and Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital to ease the burden of transportation for this deserving family,” said Rick Lewis, unit manager for claims at the Automobile Club of Southern California. “We hope this gift of transportation will give Isaiah and his family a special reason to celebrate and look forward to continued healing in the coming year.”