"I ask the two charities I work with to narrow it down to two or three families, because the first year I was given the stories of 10 or 12 families, and reading what these people had been through made me want to give 10 cars away," Shelton said.

He said his vehicle donations generally go to women with children trying to get their lives back in order after leaving abusive relationships. In addition to the vehicle, he invites other businesses and individuals to donate other items on the family's "wish list."

"Last year, we had about $2,000 in other items with the car, including a washer and dryer that we delivered and installed," Shelton said. "I use the cash donations to maybe give a money order payable to their landlord, or gift cards for gas, and maybe a small amount of cash to the mom so she can buy a Christmas gift or two for her kids that's 'from her.'"

Akzo's Chris Donnelly said he has worked to increase the number of shops participating in the program which he based on an effort started in 1994 by Dave Adams of Dave Adams Classic Auto Repair in Orem, Utah. Donnelly said shops are often able to find vendors to donate necessary parts, a mechanical shop to provide oil changes for the vehicle for a year, and an insurance agent who will donate liability coverage for several months or a year. He said many technicians decide to do the work without pay to help the cause.

Like Shelton, many of the shop owners involved in the program put their own unique spin on it. Some have gotten insurers or salvage yards to donate the vehicle. In Florida, a group of shops works together to repair and give away vehicles.

Joe Lewright of Ellis & Salzar, a shop in Austin, Texas, worked with a local Head Start program to establish a "responsible parent of the year" program, in which the winner receives the vehicle. He works to make sure the donation to the family includes bicycles for the kids "so the parents aren't the only ones that get wheels that day."

Procare Automotive & Collision in San Antonio, Texas, was actually invited to present its car to a family on the local "Good Morning, San Antonio" television show. After the broadcast, the producer of the show said the station's phones lit up with calls from viewers saying how much they appreciated and were touched by the show of generosity.

That kind of positive publicity is great for the shop and the industry, Shelton said, but it isn't why he participates in the program.

"You can't believe the feeling that overcomes you when you're doing this, when you know you're impacting somebody's life so much," he said. "I've even thought the last couple years about not publicizing it, because I don't like to draw attention to myself. But I've decided it doesn't do it justice to keep it secret, because it's really a nice story, a Christmas story. I make it public to let people know there are people out there who like to help. And it makes your employees look and feel good, seeing that you do the right thing, that you all give back to the community, that you try to help people."

Shop focuses on "safe kids"

At the Pace Auto Group in Huntington, Indiana, for example, looking out for the safety of children has become part of the daily life of the dealership's collision repair center.

"We began by doing bicycle rodeos through the shop just to give something back to the community," said Jeff Rice, manager of the shop. Each child was fitted with a new bicycle helmet after watching a 15-minute video on bike safety. They could then practice their new skills on a fenced-in bicycle "obstacle course" with instructors coaching them on such things as obeying stop signs and watching for cars.

"I think at our first event we gave out about 100 helmets," Rice said. "But we had 300 calls that first year for kids to sign up. So the next year we offered it to 200, and we did that for about four years, giving away 200 bicycle helmets every year."