Championing a Better Future for Collision Students: Crash Champions Proudly Supports CREF’s Vision on Every Level
Curated for the Collision Repair Education Foundation
The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) envisions “a collision industry with a sufficient number of qualified, properly trained and immediately productive entry-level employees to meet current and future industry needs,” and that begins with ensuring collision schools are adequately equipped with everything they need to educate the next generation of collision repair professionals through its landmark Benchmark Awards.
This initiative also reflects Silver-level sponsor Crash Champions’ vision to Champion People.
“At Crash Champions, we believe our purpose is about more than fixing cars. We Champion People,” says Bill Davidson, Crash Champions’ Chief Human Resources Officer. “It’s imperative that schools have access to resources that deliver a modern curriculum that replicates the real-world industry workplace. Crash Champions is proud to invest in this important work as we aim to Champion the next generation of collision repair professionals together.”
In 2024, Crash Champions funded four Benchmark Awards, helping to improve the educational experience of nearly 350 collision students by aiding instructors’ efforts to equip their classrooms with the products, tools and equipment necessary for training their pupils for a successful entrance into the workplace.
“These funds allow us to stay current with industry standards and to keep teaching at the top of our industry with technology,” shares Mike Hanscome, collision instructor at Aims Community College (Windsor, CO), a 2024 Benchmark Award recipient. “When our students graduate and enter the industry, they now have the knowledge of state-of-the-art repair procedures and experience with using that equipment.”
Aims Community College utilized the $5,000 award to “purchase a KECO glue dent pulling station for metal and aluminum,” according to Hanscome, who notes, “This is a fast-growing way to pull dents that does little to no harm to the surface. It also allows you to do a paintless dent repair if you are good enough at the procedures.”
This was not the first time that Hansome’s classroom benefitted from CREF’s philanthropic gifting. “We have received CREF support in the past, which has allowed us to help students and the program with costly protective gear (dust respirators, full-face paint respirators, paint suits and gloves). It has also helped the program with consumables like tape, sandpaper, other sanding materials and sanding equipment. This enables us to work within our budgets that seem to be getting smaller even with the price of paint, equipment and other consumables on the rise. This helps our students by allowing them to work with industry standard materials and equipment. It betters the program which, in turn, betters the competencies in which the students leave here with. This allows them to find jobs faster and climb the ladder to be better techs.”
Carroll County Career and Technology Center (Westminster, MD) also received a $5,000 Benchmark Award funded by Crash Champions in 2024, enabling instructor Timothy Gisiner to acquire “some great equipment that we needed for our program. We received two key boxes to secure customers’ and other keys, two parts carts, a set of wheel dollies, a Lenco dent pulling system, a hybrid vehicle station and a much-needed Autel scanner to assess vehicles.
“The donations will help us to meet our ASE shop requirements to maintain our certification and enable us to provide more updated training for students like new hybrid vehicles,” Gisiner continues. “We can also provide students with current training on some of the equipment they will see in shops when they leave our program. It will help us give our students a training advantage as they transition from school to their careers.”
While half of Crash Champions’ $50,000 donation in 2024 was specifically allocated for Benchmark Awards to support schools, the remaining funds were distributed among CREF’s other programs designed to advance future repairers, including student uniform donations to create a professional atmosphere in the classroom. Crash Champions has also gotten involved with CREF’s fundraising efforts as a sponsor of CREF’s Annual Golf Fundraiser as well as through local initiatives, including their sponsorship of the Atlanta I-CAR Committee’s 15th Annual Golf Fundraiser, which has generated over $800,000 in donations awarded to schools in the Atlanta Metro area.
“These initiatives each represent an opportunity to Champion the next generation of industry talent by providing critical resources to students pursuing a rewarding career,” Davidson says. “We’re proud to play a small part in CREF’s impactful work.”
Crash Champions’ 2024 contribution also included a $10,000 endowment directed to the Foundation’s General Fund, allowing CREF to drive measurable change and shape the future of the collision repair industry through Student Scholarships, Career Fairs and other activities.
Hanscome details another way CREF’s endeavors has aided his program. “CREF has supported our recruitment efforts, allowing us to reach students who did not know about this industry and help educate them on what a collision career can offer; this allows them to make an informed decision on a career path for them and gets more young people interested in an industry that needs new techs with a good entry-level education. CREF’s help and the contributions they get from our industry allows programs like ours to stay up on the education needed to make a great entry-level tech. Their help also allows us to reach more students and to have the capability to teach at a high level of hands-on involvement. We are not sitting in the classroom testing and teaching them strictly from a book – they get to work with their hands, and that hands-on involvement is a big attraction for a lot of students. We teach them theory, but they get to put that theory into action and see the effects of doing it correctly or incorrectly, giving them the chance to make mistakes in the classroom so they’ll know how to perform repairs correctly in the field.”
Gisiner agrees that support from the industry through CREF has a positive impact on student morale. “When the students find out that we are bringing in new equipment to learn different skills, they get excited, and their excitement spreads through their home schools to our future students. For example, PDR is popular with the younger techs, so our students are excited to learn this new skill.”
Both instructors are incredibly grateful to Crash Champions and CREF for enhancing their ability to provide students with an education that prepares them for successful careers, and they hope more organizations will follow Crash Champions’ example.
“Our students are the future of the collision repair industry,” Gisiner points out. “Getting involved with the local schools and CREF is an investment in the future of the local industry. Investing in the development of the local educational facilities eventually touches every shop and supplier in the area, so investing in the schools and the organizations that support them is an investment in their own shops and organizations. At a time when program budgets are slim and sometimes even being reduced further, CREF is a hero to the career and technical education (CTE) programs. We teachers are truly appreciative of the support and advocacy CREF provides to all of us.”
“Getting involved with CREF and local schools should be a no-brainer; more involvement allows a better chance for these future technicians to grow their skill and acquire more knowledge before they enter the industry,” Hanscome weighs in. “The industry needs more skilled technicians who enjoy this ever-changing field where they get to work with their hands, overcome challenges and see the outcome of their work every day. That sense of pride and accomplishment is a fantastic feeling.”
Davidson agrees that investing in collision education through CREF is the right thing to do.
“It’s no secret that the collision repair industry has a high demand for the next generation of skilled talent,” Davidson says. “The demand for talent across our industry is rising at a rapid pace, which is well-documented by organizations like the TechForce Foundation and others. Thankfully, the industry has several major supporters, like CREF, investing in advancing the industry and creating new and exciting pathways to rewarding in-demand careers for the next generation of skilled technicians and collision repair professionals. CREF plays a critical role in ensuring a sustainable wave of skilled professionals are equipped and trained for successful careers across the industry.”
Davidson added that witnessing the impact of CREF is rewarding for all 11,000+ Crash Champions team members across the country.
“The Crash Champions team is honored to continue its proud support of the Collision Repair Education Foundation and its mission to fuel impactful and innovative programs that inspire and mold the next generation of industry professionals. CREF’s generational impact on students’ lives through its Student Scholarships, Benchmark Awards and industry advancement aligns seamlessly with Crash Champions’ vision to Champion People. Our hope is that this financial contribution not only fuels this mission but that it promotes a lasting impact in the lives of aspiring students in their unique professional journey.”
Industry members interested in getting involved and supporting the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s efforts to assist high school and college collision repair training programs can Contact Us to learn about the many ways to get involved. Monetary donations can be made online.
