Just in time for the holiday season, one lucky family in need will receive a new used car from Superior Collision Repairs.
In partnership with the Sidney Lions Food Bank, this is the repair company’s fifth year giving back. The event began by Akzo Nobel Acoat, a paint and coatings company, that started its National Benevolence Program. The mission is to present refurbished cars to deserving recipients or organizations, giving back for the holiday season.
“What they recognized is that there are vehicles that are repairable but are perhaps written off because of the cost ratio to the value of the vehicle,” said Allison Peters, co-owner of Superior and organizer of the Sidney event with her husband Rob.
Superior is just one of Akzo’s selected shops across North America that will present the vehicle to a community member in December. Other companies, have donated what they can to ensure the family has a happy holiday season.
“So what we do is we have a vehicle donated to us that has been written off and then our staff donates their time, the paint company donates the paint and our suppliers and part suppliers donate the parts to repair the vehicle,” said Peters.
She added it’s a 100 per cent by-donation program where the vehicle gets rebuilt and put back on the road.
They’ve partnered with the Sidney Lions Food Bank as they are familiar with the people in the community that would benefit from a vehicle. Recipients can apply or others can nominate people who they think would be deserving of the car. The application can be found on Superior’s website at superiorcollision.ca — although this year’s recipient has already been chosen.
Superior will then pick the recipient based on their eligibility, as Peters said they have criteria they need to meet — like having a valid drivers license.
This year’s recipient is a single mom with three children.
“We try to choose a local family because it’s built on local business donating to the program,” said Peters.
This year’s mom is an average working parent who struggles to make ends meet. With active kids and a full-time job, she often works overtime, but it’s still not quite enough.
She currently owns a car that’s in need of repairs, but can’t afford to repair it.
“Basically what we do is we try to make their life just a little bit easier. It’s kind of like giving a family a really good hand up,” said Peters.
The car presentation takes place Dec. 5 at Superior in Sidney but is limited to sponsors of the event.