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NABC kicks off Leave Something Behind program |
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Wednesday, 02 May 2007 |
With the New Year underway, the National Auto Body Council (NABC) has kicked off its Leave Something Behind program.
“Our board meetings typically coincide with the Collision Industry
Conference (CIC), which means several times per year a solid
representation of the collision industry is in one city for several
days,” said Karen Fierst, NABC Treasurer. “The board felt we could use
that as an opportunity to leave something behind in that particular
locality that exemplifies the caring spirit of our industry.”
The ongoing campaign was designed to complement NABC’s other charitable efforts. It is slated to coincide with at least two CIC sessions per year.
“We choose different causes to support and typically try to identify one with which someone from our board can identify,” said Dan Risley, chair of the Leave Something Behind sub-committee. “It’s that sense of giving that propels the program. As committee chair, I’ve been fortunate to be involved over the past few years with giving a check to a local children’s hospital, contributing cell phones to battered wives and providing books to schools for their libraries. Nothing makes me more proud to be a part of our industry than when we make these kinds of donations.”
The Leave Something Behind program is slated for two events this year, the first was at the CIC event in Atlanta last month and the next will be in Las Vegas during NACE. The focus in Atlanta was at the Northside Hospital, a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The facility is located less than two miles away from the official CIC hotel, the Crowne Plaza.
Besides being a leader in the battle against the prostate cancer, Northside Hospital offers free prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests for those unable to afford them. The money NABC raises will help offset the cost of these free screenings, which are critical in the timely diagnosis of the disease.
“This kind of cancer can be very aggressive—I’ve recently witnessed that with my father-in-law,” said Risley, “but there is a high rate of treatment success with early detection. While the donation NABC sponsors on behalf of Northside Hospital will have a beneficial economic impact, we also hope that by spotlighting the issue we can help educate the men in our industry regarding the preventative measures available to them. Maybe we’ll even save a few lives.”
Donations to the free screening program were collected during the CIC event in Atlanta.
“Part of our job is to find projects that foster the good works performed by the men and women of the collision industry, and the Leave Something Behind program is a worthy portion of NABC’s portfolio,” says NABC Executive Director Chuck Sulkala. “It’s a grass roots approach, which means we can have a direct impact on those communities gracious enough to host us. It’s a meaningful way to bond with those localities.”
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