Giving back to the community isn’t just a mission for William Moppert Jr.—it’s a family affair.
While Moppert Jr., owner of Moppert Auto Collision in Turnersville, N.J., is participating in various community charity events, his wife is an active board member for a cancer foundation, and his children, Gregory Moppert, Ashley Moppert and William Moppert III, are planning to carry on in his father’s philanthropic footsteps.
Moppert Jr., who has run three shops in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area with his two brothers for over 35 years, hasn’t once let up on improving his community. The Moppert commitment to providing help to underprivileged families is exemplified through the shop’s participation in the local chapter of the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides program in June by providing rehabilitated vehicles to families in need.
In her FenderBender Award nomination for Moppert Jr., Ashley Moppert, controller at Moppert Auto Collision, wrote: “He has paved the way for my brothers and I to follow in his footsteps, and one day take over the empire he has built through blood sweat and tears.”
Moppert Jr. discusses how his charity work provides him personal satisfaction, improves business and boosts shop morale. And, above all, Moppert Jr. emphasizes how important it is to pass along that good will to the next generation.
Improving Lives with Cars
While Moppert Auto regularly helps out at community events and sponsors a local baseball team, Moppert Jr. gives back the best way he knows how: cars.
Working with the Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund and the shop’s DRP partner, Geico, Moppert Jr. and his team have fixed up automobiles for families in need. In June alone, Moppert Auto provided an SUV for the family of a wheelchair-bound child, and a hybrid vehicle for a family that has to travel long distances to care for their sick child.
“Imagine if you didn’t have a car.” Moppert Jr. posits. “It’s really a lifeline. I think people take cars for granted when they have them. When needy families have health issues, a car is a necessity. It’s a really wonderful feeling to provide one to somebody who needs it.”
Good for Business
While Moppert Jr. doesn’t perform charity for recognition, he does admit that it is ultimately good for business, often putting the shop in local news headlines and giving Moppert Auto a hospitable reputation.
“I think it certainly always helps business,” Moppert Jr. says. “It’s always something that will be a positive when anybody in the community sees you doing good work.”
Moppert Jr. regularly keeps track of local events through the area chamber of commerce and tries to participate monthly in some sort of community-driven effort.
“To be honest, if nobody ever knew about it, that’d be fine,” Moppert Jr. says. “There’s no measure to the value when you hand somebody the keys to a freshly refurbished vehicle. It means so much to them. It’s an immeasurable satisfaction to do that for somebody.”
Boosting Shop Morale
Perhaps more important than improving the shop’s outer image is improving Moppert Auto’s inner community. Providing a life-affirming shop culture is a passion of Moppert Jr.’s, and the regular charity work it performs consistently keeps shop morale up.
“We get a picture with all the guys,” Moppert Jr. says of the Recycled Rides program. “We make sure the entire staff is there for the presentation. We put big bows on the cars and we have food and drink and we invite our insurance partners and all the technicians.”
Moppert Jr. says putting the spotlight on his employees empowers them and reminds them of the lives they’re changing through their work.
“We have local township officials and local media attend, so we try to make it an event,” Moppert Jr. says. “They love it, they rally behind it, they get excited for it. It’s a great thing, and it’s a great day when we do it. We try to do it multiple times a year.”
Passing It On
With plans to retire after over 35 years of repairing vehicles, Moppert Jr. will soon pass the reins off to the company to his two sons.
Not only does Moppert Jr. expect his sons to carry on the shop’s philanthropic deeds—he expects them to outdo their father.
“They’re the ones handling the most recent Recycled Rides program,” Moppert Jr. says. “And, as they like to do, they always try to outdo me, so they donated two cars instead of our usual one.”
Moppert Jr. says Gregory, Ashely, and Moppert III will continue to help the shop flourish and improve the community long after Moppert Jr. moves on.
“And so far I can’t be more happy with all the progress my children have made,” Moppert Jr. says. “Being able to sit with my children and work with them is the best part of running this business.”
