On Sept. 5, four New Jersey veterans received beautifully refurbished vehicles to help them care for their families, thanks to the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program, vehicle donor GEICO and repair partner Dynasty Auto Body.
The presentation was part of an annual community event at Dynasty Auto Body in Paterson, NJ, with city and Passaic County police, firefighters, first responders and local dignitaries on hand to participate, including Mayor Andre Sayegh. This was the 13th event that Dynasty Auto Body has hosted, and the 21st NABC Recycled Ride they have presented to local veterans in need.
“We have been working with the National Auto Body Council since November of 2011, ever since [owner] John and I saw them gifting vehicles at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas,” said Anne Kolea, manager at Dynasty Auto Body. “Our first NABC Recycled Rides event was in June of 2012. Thirteen years later, here we are at our 13th event."
The recipients were nominated by New Jersey Veterans Network, a volunteer mobile outreach program dedicated to helping veterans and their families live a better life.
“Dynasty Auto Body is the epitome of what NABC stands for,” said Dale Ross, NABC Recycled Rides program director. “Our mission is saving and changing lives every day. And they not only refurbished these vehicles to provide reliable transportation to people that need it, but they bring the whole community together to honor our veterans who deserved to be honored every day of the year.”
Jeffrey Ortiz is a retired U.S. Army specialist. He proudly served as a MLRS fire direction specialist in the Army from 2000-2003. Unfortunately, Ortiz and his three children lost their wife and mother to cancer in 2016. He tries to do his best as a single father but was laid off from his security job at his children’s school. Ortiz has a vehicle but is worried about its reliability since it is 25 years old. This is extra concerning since he uses it to secure his income from jobs with DoorDash and Uber. This refurbished vehicle will allow Ortiz to continue pushing forward with a positive attitude, making life more secure for his family.
Donald Chavies is a U.S. Army veteran having participated in Operation Enduring Freedom. He has multiple medical conditions and is in desperate need of a vehicle to travel to vital doctor’s appointments. His lack of a vehicle also prevents him from visiting his four adult children. In 2023, a severe medical condition made it impossible for him to work and ended up leaving him homeless. But after working with the staff at the Rescue Mission in Trenton, NJ, he was able to be physically rehabilitated and to recently find permanent housing. A refurbished vehicle from the NABC Recycled Rides program will allow Chavies to visit his children and continue with vital medical care. A vehicle will give him his life back and also allow him to pay it forward by helping other veterans in need.
Ivette Caban is a mother of four, U.S. Army veteran, veteran advocate and church pastor. She enlisted in the Army in 1995, serving 10 years as a medical supply specialist. She took missions to assist New Jersey residents on 9/11 and worked out of several duty stations until she was medically discharged in 2005. Now she works with New Jersey Veterans Network, assisting veterans by helping them get off the streets, bringing them food, and counseling them in times of need. Caban does all of this with a vehicle that has many miles on it and has become increasingly unreliable. Caban’s husband is out of work due to an injury and her four children rely on her transportation to get them to and from school. This refurbished vehicle will not only allow her to take care of her family but as a pastor, allow her the freedom to participate in food and clothing drives and to mentor those in need.
Robert Marshall is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served at the Brunswick Naval Air Station. After his service, he continued to volunteer and mentor young recruits entering the armed forces. After becoming disabled and in desperate need of a vehicle, Marshall struggled to get to his doctor’s appointments, largely relying on public transportation when it is available. He relied on others to go grocery shopping for him and was only able to leave his apartment once or twice a week. Most importantly, the refurbished vehicle will allow Marshall to see his 89-year-old mother who is living in a nursing home. After seeing her on a regular basis, it has now been two years since he was able to visit her. Seeing his mother again would allow her to progress in a nursing home until he is able to once again care for her himself.
“This car is a blessing for me, my mother and my children,” said Marshall. “I will be able to visit my mother who is in the nursing home two hours away. That is the first place I am going. And I will be able to see my best friend, who I also haven’t seen in two years. I just want to thank everybody that helped make this happen.”
GEICO, a Level One partner of the NABC, has donated more than 1,000 vehicles to people and organizations through NABC Recycled Rides, making it the largest car donor partner of NABC Recycled Rides.
Dynasty Auto Body, an I-CAR Gold Certified repair facility and a member of Certified Collision Group, has a culture of giving back to the community, and especially helping veterans. Owner John Hamdan and his team have participated in refurbishing and gifting 21 vehicles through the NABC Recycled Rides program.
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 program in 2007, members of the NABC have donated more than 3,500 vehicles valued at some $51 million.
Additional partners in this presentation included PPG, NAPA, LKQ, Dent Wizard, Atlantic Auto Glass, Glen Toyota, Dover Dodge Colours Certified Towing & Recovery LLC, Silver Star Alloy Wheels, Fenix, Toyota of Morristown, Copart, Enterprise, Advanced Remarketing Services and Cars for Charity.
