The National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program, in collaboration with Allstate and RJ Sell’s Body Shop in Lebanon, PA, presented U.S. Army veteran Darlene Wilson of Harrisburg, PA, with a completely refurbished 2019 Hyundai Tucson.
The gesture is a lifeline to Wilson, who has faced substantial challenges, including PTSD from her military service and difficulties stemming from a lack of transportation.
“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Wilson said of the honor. “It was very humbling and just a really great experience that there’s people out there to help out like this. I’ve been without a car for a little while, and it was a struggle getting back and forth to work.”
It was Wilson’s boss at Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg who nominated her for an NABC Recycled Ride.
“It made me feel really good that he thought of me,” Wilson said. “He was like, ‘Hey, this was something that was brought to my attention and I think that this would be a really good thing for you.”
Wilson served 18 years in the Army, achieving the rank of staff sergeant and deploying overseas in Iraq and Kosovo. Her work at Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania (VOP) is vital to their mission to combat veteran homelessness. Wilson suffers from various medical issues including PTSD, which means she connects with other veterans in the program dealing with physical and mental issues. The peer-to-peer work that she does at VOP is much more valuable because of the experiences she brings to group and individual counseling sessions.
Wilson lacked transportation to get to work, making her dependent on others. This donation will change that.
“It’s a big life changer,” Wilson said. “Just to be able to know that I’m able to do things for my mother, who’s not always able to do for herself. I also have a granddaughter and with not having a vehicle, it kept me away from her and that’s not a good thing. So it makes it so much easier now that I’m able to just get up and go and get her when she needs me and just different things like that. It’s just real nice.”
Wilson’s life has been about dedication, whether to her family, the Army or the homeless veterans she works with on a daily basis. In that true spirt of dedication, Wilson didn’t waste any time after she got the keys to her new ride.
“I went right to work,” she said. “Work is very important to me. This program that I work at is for homeless veterans. I’m a veteran myself. I remember a time in my life when I got out of the military it was very difficult and I started spiraling a little bit, but I had a lot of people to help me, who gave me a little hand and would say, ‘You’ve got this, you can do this.’ [Working with homeless veterans] is kind of me giving back to them, to let them know, ‘Look, I understand, but I’m your light at the end of the tunnel.'”
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 3,300 vehicles valued at some $47 million.
Additional partners in the presentation included Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, RJ Sell’s Towing, Bennet Hyundai, LKQ, Fred Beans, Continental Auto Parts, Chuck’s Auto Glass, 1-800 Radiator and Wampler’s Buff & Wax Auto Detailing.
