Chicago, Illinois – February 1, 2021 – Gerber Collision & Glass, a division of the Boyd Group Inc., has donated $50,000 to the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) in support of the organization’s efforts to support high school and college collision programs, students, and instructors nationwide.
Gerber has donated nearly $400,000 in lifetime giving to CREF and our 2020 donation helps fund both collision school programs and student support through CREF. Through this support, Gerber Collision & Glass is also involved with CREF’s high school and college transportation student career fair events around the country to network with the future professionals of the industry. Also, through this 2020 donation, Gerber becomes a Platinum Sponsor of CREF’s 2021 TopGolf Chicago Fundraiser scheduled for Thursday, September 9, where 50% of the proceeds will directly benefit the collision program at Kennedy-King College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago.
“Gerber Collision & Glass is committed to making a difference in the communities we serve and playing a role in the development of collision repair technicians,” said Kevin Burnett, Gerber Collision & Glass COO and a CREF Board Member. “Gerber believes its partnership with CREF is integral to contributing to the future diversity of the collision repair industry.”
Eddie Phillips, Kennedy-King College Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, noted, “We are grateful to Gerber for their commitment to Kennedy-King College’s Collision Technology program. Their contribution will help ensure students have access to a quality, affordable education that leads to meaningful opportunities in the auto body repair industry.”
CREF Director of Development Brandon Eckenrode noted, “Gerber Collision & Glass and their support is crucial in our efforts to support collision technical programs which are traditionally located in economically distressed markets and as school administrators are constantly reviewing budgets, these donations are lifelines for these programs to survive. Gerber has been an incredible partner to CREF; not only through their monetary support and serving on our Board of Trustees but many of their staff collaborate with CREF to stay involved with local high school and college collision programs in their markets. We look forward to partnering with Gerber Collision & Glass into the future and helping address the industry’s critical need for properly trained, entry-level staff.”
Companies looking to partner with CREF in supporting local high school and college collision programs can contact Brandon Eckenrode at Brandon.Eckenrode@ed-foundation.org.
About The Boyd Group Inc.
The Boyd Group Inc. (the “Company”) is one of the largest operators of non-franchised collision repair centers in North America in terms of number of locations and sales. The Company operates in Canada under the trade names Boyd Autobody & Glass (https://www.boydautobody.com) and Assured Automotive (https://www.assuredauto.ca), as well as in the U.S. under the trade name Gerber Collision & Glass (https://www.gerbercollision.com). In addition, the Company is a major retail auto glass operator in the U.S. with operations under the trade names Gerber Collision & Glass, Glass America, Auto Glass Service, Auto Glass Authority and Autoglassonly.com. The Company also operates a third party administrator, Gerber National Claim Services (“GNCS”), that offers glass, emergency roadside and first notice of loss services. For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Services Inc., please visit our website at (https://www.boydgroup.com)
For further information, please contact:
Kevin Burnett
Chief Operating Officer - Gerber Collision & Glass
Tel: (847) 652-2431
kevin.burnett@gerbercollision.com
