Aug. 10, 2015—AudaExplore, working with the Collision Repair Education Foundation, will once again award $25,000 in tool grants to students that competed at the national SkillsUSA contest, the company announced on Thursday.
Working together with industry companies and their student product discounts, the retail value of these tools will exceed $50,000. The tool grants are meant to recognize the efforts of the students in qualifying to compete at the national SkillsUSA event and help prepare them for a career within the collision industry.
“This donation aligns very well with our LIFT charitable giving program, which focuses on helping those in need to build sustainable roots for lasting change,” said Rick Tuuri, VP of industry relations for AudaExplore. ”Helping people get started in this industry is in our DNA, as our Founder and CEO, Tony Aquila, started as many technicians do; sweeping floors in a body shop. The U.S. Department of Labor projected the employment growth of the automotive body segment to be 13 percent from 2012 to 2022. SkillsUSA and the Collision Repair Education Foundation have done a fantastic job enhancing career opportunities for students to take advantage of this growth and we are proud to be a part of it.”
“This is the [second] year that AudaExplore has awarded the collision repair and refinishing students with these tool grants and it’s a great display to these state winners that there is an industry that recognizes their accomplishments and skill,” said Clark Plucinski, executive director of Collision Repair Education Foundation. “As these students are the potential future members of the industry, I commend AudaExplore on this reward for the ‘best of the best’ students through the SkillsUSA competition.”
Those interested in supporting the Collision Repair Education Foundation should contact Brandon Eckenrode, director of development.
