Veteran and Grandmother Gets a Refurbished Ride

A veteran of service in the U.S. Army was presented a vehicle to provide her independence and the ability to support her family–thanks to the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program along with car donor GEICO and repair partner Gerber Collision & Glass of Marietta, Georgia, according to a news release.

NABC, GEICO and Gerber Collision & Glass presented a fully refurbished 2019 Jeep Compass to Nikkitris Jones, a single disabled veteran who is raising grandchildren.  She served honorably in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of staff sergeant.

The only family vehicle was destroyed in an accident, the fault of a driver who did not have insurance.  Recovering from injuries has taken its toll on Nikkitris and her family.  They have not had a reliable way to get to doctor’s appointments and have been spending large sums to do simple things like getting to the grocery store. Life has been a struggle, to say the least. Southern Crescent Veterans Services, a non-profit organization serving veterans, saw the need and nominated her for the donation of the car from National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides that will ensure that Nikkitris can take care of her needs and those of her family.

“I’m so happy--you just don’t know,” said Jones after the ceremony. “The children were so excited.  They ran around like they had just won the lottery.”

She added that most of her earnings had been going to hiring rides, so it’s not only a matter of having transportation now, but also a matter of being able to have money to pay for the needs of her children and grandchildren who range in age from a few months to college.

NABC Recycled Rides is a unique program in which businesses representing all facets of the collision repair industry team up to repair and donate vehicles to individuals and families in need of reliable transportation. Since the inception of the NABC Recycled Rides program in 2007, members of the National Auto Body Council® have donated more than 3,300 vehicles valued at some $47 million.

Additional partners in the NABC Recycled Rides presentation included Cars for Charity, Advanced Remarketing Services, Copart, Enterprise, LKQ, Keystone, Auto Zone, Longhouse Inventory Solutions, Troncalli and INA Towing Network.