On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, two deserving New Jersey veterans received keys to newly refurbished vehicles through the NABC Recycled Rides® program and its partners New Trimble Auto Body and GEICO. The donation recognized two United States Marines and their resilience in the face of adversity.
The presentation ceremony was held at the New Trimble Auto Body facility in Clifton, NJ, with more than 100 guests on hand for the festivities. The vehicles, a 2019 Mitsubishi Mirage and a 2018 Hyundai Elantra SL, were donated by GEICO and refurbished by the technicians of New Trimble Auto Body in Clifton. The two veterans were nominated by the New Jersey Veterans Administration HUD/VASH program.
“It is such an honor to give back to those in our community who have served our country,” said Ivo Rodrigues, owner of New Trimble Auto Body and a veteran of the Portuguese Army. “Our team is proud to contribute their time and hard work to refurbish these vehicles for these two veterans. We are very grateful for our business partners who helped make this possible.”
Miguel Arocho, who served 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He became homeless after losing his job in California and moved to New Jersey to stay with his sister, only to have a tree fall on her house, making it uninhabitable. Arocho has overcome those adversities to be able to enroll in school under the G.I. Bill and to get housing through the Veterans’ Administration HUD VASH program. He is pursuing a horticultural degree.
“I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that participated to make this happen,” Arocho said after the presentation. “I give free car rides to students and couldn’t be more grateful to those who have made this possible.”
Dominick Carpentieri, who rose to the rank of sergeant in his six years in the U.S. Marine Corps, served from 1962 to 1968, primarily in Okinawa. After his service, he worked for more than 30 years as a union butcher. Carpentieri’s car has 220,000 miles on it and is increasingly unreliable. This veteran uses his car to see his children and grandchildren daily and to volunteer helping other veterans, but he can’t rely on the car to travel out of town to see his sister. The NABC Recycled Rides® donated vehicle will enable him to continue to visit family and give back to other veterans.
“I’m here to pick up something that is very valuable to me right now,” said Carpentieri. “This is truly a remarkable day. I appreciate everyone that has helped me out. I can’t express enough my appreciation for this new car.”
GEICO, a Level One member of the NABC®, is the largest donor of vehicles to the NABC Recycled Rides® program, having donated more than 1,000 vehicles since 2007.
New Trimble Auto Body has been a family-owned business for 40 years and holds OEM certifications from most major car brands. New Trimble Auto Body is an I-CAR Gold Certified repair facility that has presented eight NABC Recycled Rides® vehicles to those in need in their community.
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 3,500 vehicles valued at some $51 million.
Additional partners in the NABC Recycled Rides® presentation include Keystone/LKQ, Fred Beans, Colours, PPG, 3M, King of Dents, Empire Rim Fix, Scott Tire, Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, Copart and Enterprise.
Source: National Auto Body Council, “NABC® Partners GEICO and New Trimble Auto Body Donate Refurbished Vehicles to Two New Jersey Veterans in Need through the NABC Recycled Rides® Program,” published July 24, 2025 (event held July 23, 2025). Read original article here: https://nationalautobodycouncil.org/press-releases/nabc-partners-geico-and-new-trimble-auto-body-donate-refurbished-vehicles-to-two-new-jersey-veterans-in-need-through-the-nabc-recycled-rides-program/.