The Collision Repair Education Foundation (formerly the I-CAR Education
Foundation) has provided 2,000 Cintas technician shirts to automotive
collision students nationwide this fall through the support of Audatex,
a Solera company; AutoZone; Chicago Pneumatic; Craftsman; I-CAR; and
PPG Automotive Refinish.
In addition to providing uniforms to collision students, the project
helped raise $20,000 for the Foundation’s Collision Repair Education
Campaign fund that helps provide student scholarships, school grants,
and the Foundation’s Ultimate Collision Education Makeover grant. In
addition to providing a significant discount on the technician shirts
and sponsor patches, Cintas Corporation donated the shipping costs of
the 2,000 completed technician shirts.
Several hundred of the technician shirts were distributed to collision
students attending NACE and SEMA; roughly 1,000 shirts were provided to
52 schools that applied for the Foundation’s 2010 Ultimate Collision
Education Makeover grant, 175 will be distributed to all of the auto
body and refinishing students competing at the 2011 national SkillsUSA
competition this June in Kansas City, and the remaining shirts will be
distributed to other schools that have applied for recent grants and
scholarships.
“I cannot begin to describe how excited my collision students were when
they first put on their new uniforms,” stated Kurt Chrysler, Collision
Instructor for Tuscola Technology Center in Caro, Michigan. “They
insisted that I take them up to the school store, located in the front
of the school, in hopes that students from the other classes would see
them. They had huge grins on their faces and an extra spring in their
step. I heard several students make comments about how professional
they looked. These new uniforms have truly been a blessing to our
program. Thank you so much!”
Area 30 Career Center Collision Instructor Rob Worman in Greencastle,
Indiana said, “I would like to start off by saying thank you to the
technician shirt sponsors and the Collision Repair Education
Foundation. The shirts give the students a sense of belonging and
unity. They also give the class one more reason to take pride in their
work. The students will be wearing the shirts when we display our show
car at the 2011 World-of-Wheels in February in Indianapolis.”
“My students love them. They wear them in the lab, and we are the only
class that sports this type of lab shirt,” commented Botetourt
Technical Education Center Collision Instructor Donnie Sale of
Fincastle, Virginia. “To my students, these shirts set them apart from
the other programs. It also lets our program project a sense of
professionalism within the student. Thank you so much for the
shirts.”
Education Foundation Executive Director, Scott Kruger commented, “This
is the second year of the Foundation providing these technician shirts
to collision students and the feedback we receive from the students and
instructors is incredible. Students walk around school with their heads
held high and with a new sense of pride and professionalism through
these shirts. This has been made possible through Audatex, a Solera
company; AutoZone; Chicago Pneumatic; Craftsman; I-CAR; and PPG
Automotive Refinish’s support. We are also extremely thankful for
Cintas’ support of this project through the discounted costs and
donation of the shipping.”
For information visit www.ed-foundation.org.
