NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Damielle Reynolds, a U.S. Army veteran and single mother, was presented with a vehicle Saturday at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals that will allow her to get to work and care of her family, thanks to the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program along with vehicle donor GEICO and collision repair partner Gerber Collision & Glass, whose team members donated their time and talent to refurbish the vehicle.

Reynolds is mother to an eight-year-old son with autism. After four years of active-duty service and then moved back home to be with family and to have support for her son while attending junior academy. With her son’s well-being always her main focus, she unfortunately fell on tough times through a series of challenging situations: Covid impacted their lives heavily because her son could no longer receive in-person therapy, undoing much of the progress he had made. 

Car problems resulted in the loss of a vehicle and things snowballed until they found themselves homeless, couch-surfing for six months. Then with the help of US Vets, Reynolds has since been able to get back into school and is looking for a part-time job.  Her son is now eligible for sports this year through his medical provider. Having a reliable vehicle will help alleviate a lot of financial burdens, like the cost of ridesharing, to get him to his activities, therapy and her to school, as she looks to learn additional skills to earn a better income. This gift of a reliable vehicle will be the hand up she needs to get back on her feet, maintain her independence and keep moving towards the best life for her and her son. 
 
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 include Enterprise, David Wilson’s Toyota Riverside, PPG, Martin Auto Color, Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, and Copart.