Veteran Receives Refurbished Vehicle Through NABC Recycled Rides
Minneapolis veteran DiQuan Sanders was given the donation of a refurbished vehicle at the 3M Skills Development Center on Sept. 9 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The presentation was made possible by the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program, car donor Allstate, and repair partner Raymond Auto Body — located in St. Paul — a member of the Certified Collision Group.
“We’re going to do more of this,” said Jason Slomkowski, owner of Raymond Auto Body. “This was our first, but we’re already collaborating on the next vehicle. This is a great program.”
Sanders was nominated by the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV). Established in 1990, MACV operates the state’s largest nonprofit focused on providing comprehensive support to veterans who are currently homeless or at imminent risk of losing their housing.
Sanders is a U.S. Army Veteran who served from 2015 to 2019 and was honorably discharged. He suffered a service-connected disability that makes daily life a challenge for him and his family.
Sanders and his family arrived in Minnesota in the winter of 2025. With limited resources, they were forced to stay in a homeless shelter to escape the cold. Despite these circumstances, Sanders immediately found employment and has remained steadily employed since.
He, along with his partner, also made it a priority to enroll their daughter in school to provide her with a sense of stability. They were soon able to move into an apartment of their own near their daughter's school.
Finances are still very tight because there is no easily available transit to their jobs; a significant portion of the household income is spent on ride services.
The donation of the vehicle will allow them to cut costs and become more stable and fully realize the rewards of all their hard work.
“We weren’t really expecting help from anyone,” Sanders said. “Being able to have this opportunity, it’s all just amazing. This is really a heartfelt moment for me and my family. It's not just transportation; it's helping us conquer a huge barrier.”
In addition to the donation of the car, Sanders and his family received a trunk full of gifts from Raymond Auto Body, gift cards from 3M, and a car kit from Enterprise.
“It's always special when we can give the vehicle to a veteran,” said Dale Ross, the program director for the NABC Recycled Rides ®. It's even more special considering the upcoming September 11th anniversary coming up, and it's just wonderful to see all our members and the community come together like this. Especially the generosity of everybody who not only worked on the vehicle and donated to the vehicle but also did extra things and stuffing the trunk for the family, you know, buying things for them to have fun with.”
Additional partners in this presentation include Copart, Enterprise, Advanced Remarketing Services and Cars for Charity.
About the Author
Emily KlineEmily Kline
Emily Kline is a Special Projects Editor for FenderBender and ABRN, ABW, Motor Age, and Ratchet+Wrench. She also produces an annual publication for SATA called Painter's Playbook, is a Senior Contributing Editor for NAPA INSIGHT, and oversees Ratchet+Wrench's Shop Goods issues and FenderBender's Ultimate Collision Repair Shop.
She has worked in the Vehicle Service & Repair Group at Endeavor Business Media for over 3 years, learning about vehicle repair and the automotive industry as a whole. She has a bachelor's degree in English from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona. As a writer, she enjoys her fair share of reading and has no shame in using the long Minnesota winters as an excuse to stay indoors and cozy up with a good book.