Insurer Honors Veterans Day with Events Countrywide in Partnership with the National Auto Body Council, Veteran Organizations and Business Partners
This Veterans Day, more than 130 veterans and their families will be getting the keys to newly-refurbished vehicles as part of The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies’ third annual Keys to Progress® event. The vehicle giveaways will take place on November 11th at 60 of Progressive’s Service Centers across the country. Regularly used as one-stop facilities where Progressive handles claims and coordinates repairs for customers, on Veterans Day, the Service Centers will serve a different purpose. Several organizations are partnering with Progressive to make Keys to Progress a reality, including the National Auto Body Council (NABC) and its body shop members, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Veracity Research Investigations Inc. (VRC), and 1-800-Charity Cars.
For the annual program, Progressive works together with local NABC member body shops to recycle and donate vehicles that have been involved or recovered in a claim. They’ve been restored for the veterans as an extension of the NABC Recycled Rides® program. At more than 130 vehicles, it is once again the single largest one-day vehicle donation for the program, exceeding last year’s record donation of 117 cars. Since the start of the Keys to Progress event and including this year, Progressive has donated considerable time and resources to provide more than 300 deserving military families and organizations with reliable transportation.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, approximately four in 10 veterans live in rural areas where available transportation options are limited, and where it’s necessary for them to travel great distances to receive medical care, reach employment centers, and access other services. The continued expansion of the Progressive Keys to Progress event provides direct assistance to veterans and their families to provide reliable transportation so they can get back on the road faster and move forward in life.
“We recognize a need in our communities to provide support to military men and women who may be facing tough circumstances in life—from difficult personal and family health needs, to excessive rent burdens, unemployment and even homelessness,” said Mike Sieger, Claims President. “One of Progressive’s company core values is the Golden Rule. Keys to Progress is a great way to put that into action, extending that principle to people who have given so much for their country—our military veterans.”
This is the third year that Progressive worked alongside National Auto Body Council, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Veracity Research Investigations, 1-800-Charity Cars, national salvage partners Copart and Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA), and numerous local charitable organizations to make Keys to Progress a reality:
NABC member body shops volunteer staff, resources and thousands of hours of collective time to repair the vehicles free-of-charge to veterans.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car provides insurance for each donated vehicle for the first six months, and also offers free car rentals to transport families to the Progressive Service Centers for the event as needed.
The insurance policies are written by Progressive.
VRC Investigations, a veteran-owned and operated organization, helps support the recipient selection process each year.
The Original 1-800-Charity Cars, powered by AudaExplore, a Solera Company, donates resources to facilitate titling and registration of vehicles for recipients.
Salvage partners Copart and IAA donate some of the vehicles.
Local charity partners help to identify the most deserving recipients in each region.
Progressive Service Centers participating in Keys to Progress are located in the following cities (some cities have multiple locations and will have multiple vehicles being given away):
Arizona: Phoenix
California: Pasadena, San Diego, Sacramento
Colorado: Denver
Connecticut: Hartford, New Haven
Florida: Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach
Georgia: Atlanta
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis
Kansas: Kansas City
Louisiana: Baton Rouge, New Orleans
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Boston
Michigan: Detroit
Minnesota: Minneapolis
Missouri: St. Louis
Nebraska: Omaha
Nevada: Las Vegas
New Jersey: South Plainfield
New York: Albany, Buffalo
Ohio: Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City
Oregon: Portland
Pennsylvania: Chester County, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
Rhode Island: Providence
Texas: Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio
Utah: Salt Lake City
Virginia: Springfield, Virginia Beach
Washington, D.C.
Washington: Seattle
Wisconsin: Milwaukee
