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Letter to the Editor
Thursday December 22
Benevolence Program Gives Cars to Deserving People
Mike Rose’s Auto Body, in Concord, CA, is just one of more than 75 shops across the Nation this December that are presenting a “new” used vehicle to a deserving individual this holiday season. They have joined with other members of the AKZO Nobel National Benevolence Program, a community relations program whose mission is to present refurbished cars to deserving individuals or organizations during the holiday season. The cars were all presented during the week of December 12 throughout the U.S.Over a hundred people gathered in the front office of Mike’s Auto Body for what has become an annual generous and hearfelt presentation.
Mary Mazion a single mother of five girls, one daughter still at home, wheelchair bound from cerebral palsy, drove home a 2001 Nissan Quest donated by AAA Insurance Co. of Northern California. Mazion has been without transportation for the past year after her van was stolen. She has been borrowing vehicles from her family to get to school and work and to take her daughter to her schooling and doctor appointments.
Cynthia Heilson, a supervisor of the re-entry work program at DVC, commented, “Mary is an extremely positive person. Even through all the trying times she has had, she has always maintained a positive attitude, and the car could not have gone to a more deserving person.”
Priscilla Pina, a single mother of four, drove off in a 1999 Mercury Sable donated by Safeco Insurance. Pina has two daughters still at home, one in high school and the other in junior high. She will no longer have to wake up at 5am to catch the right buses to get her daughters to school and then catch another bus to get herself to school and work.
“You have no idea what a difference this is going to make to me and my girls. No more waking up at the crack of dawn, no more buses. I just can’t believe it. You don’t win anything your entire life and then all of a sudden you get a car. I’m still in shock”, said Priscilla.
And the last vehicle went to not one person but an entire city of people. The Monument Crisis Center located in Concord,CA, proves food, legal services, and educational classes for the lower-income families in the community. Sandra Scherer, the director of the program, was still shaking as she drove away in her 1998 Ford Windstar, donated by Mercury Insurance. Most of the employees/helpers are volunteers at the Monument Crisis Center, so they have to use their own vehicles to transport food to the center whenever it becomes available. With a vehicle of their own, the center will be able to pick up and deliver food to those in need.
The Akzo Nobel Benevolence Program is a program that allows people and companies in the automotive industry to give back to the community in which they live.
“It’s not very often that you can give to something and see the direct effect you have had on an individual. We can take cars that have some damage, repair them, and give them new life. And because this program has grown as it has, and since we have been involved with this program for the past 5 years, we now have companies calling us to see how they can help”, said Mike Rose, of Mike Rose's Auto Body. “With the support of more than 50 companies and individuals, these cars are perfectly safe to drive. Itis companies like Dirito Brothers Nissan, Dublin Ford, Complete Auto Works, B & D Towing, Big O Tires (Concord Ave Loc.), and many more who contribute parts, tires, mechanical inspections, and whatever else these cars need to become road ready."
As the Benevolence Program has received recognition it has grown dramatically over the past few years. The goal has been to increase the number of participants by increasing awareness. Last year 45 cars were given away. This year, more than 75 will be presented to deserving individuals. Through the support of the California Autobody Association’s East Bay Chapter, Mike Rose’s Auto Body is no longer the only shop in California participating in the program. A total of five cars will be donated this year in California alone. Two other local body shops joined this year, which means five more families will find getting around a little easier.
“We feel very fortunate to be involved with such a wonderful program and are very excited to be able to give back to the community that has supported us for the past 33 years. Being in this business for that long, repairing the vehicles is the easy part. Having to decide on a recipient is the part that’s hard. After receiving hundreds of applications over the years and reading the heart breaking stores, we only wish that we could do more," concluded Rose. "But hopefully with increased publicity of the Benevolence Program other shops will adapt a similar program of their own.”
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