On June 3, a deserving Virginia Beach veteran received a vehicle to provide her independence and the ability to work and take care of her family.
The vehicle was courtesy of the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program along with car donor GEICO and Elite Autobody.
Marie Gatopoulos, who received a 2018 Hyundai Tucson, has served in the Air Force for the past five years. Later this summer, she will transition from active-duty service to the New Jersey Air Guard. The USO selected Gatopoulos.
Gatopoulos has a 1-year-old daughter. A safe, dependable vehicle that she can rely on will be a big help to her as she moves on to a new chapter in her life.
The presentation took place at Kaizen Athletics in Virginia Beach.
The repairs were made by Elite Autobody, the largest independently owned auto body center in Tidewater, with locations in Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Kilmarnock and Hayes, Virginia. Employees of Elite’s newest location at 529 J. Clyde Morris Blvd. in Newport News donated their time and resources to make sure the 2018 Hyundai Tucson for Gatopoulos was ready for the road.
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 NABC Recycled Rides program in 2007, members of the National Auto Body Council have donated more than 3,000 vehicles valued at some $42 million.
Additional partners in the NABC Recycled Rides presentation included 1-800 Charity Cars and Enterprise, who donated a generous gift card to help Gatopoulos with fuel and maintenance costs on her new vehicle.
