Allstate and Caliber Collision donate car to LGBTQ Center for its clients.

[aesop_image img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Donation-3.jpg” credit=”Zoe Adler | Signal Tribune” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”Allstate Insurance and Caliber Collision employees unveil a newly detailed 2014 Honda Civic, which was donated to the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach Thursday.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] Allstate Insurance and Caliber Collision unveiled a freshly detailed 2014 Honda Civic on Thursday, June 15 at Caliber Collision’s Long Beach location as a donation to the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach as part of the Recycled Rides gifting program.
Porter Gilberg, executive director of the LGBTQ Center, said the car will help provide necessary transportation services for the Center’s clients. “Transportation is one of the largest barriers we know our clients have in accessing services,” Gilberg explained, “so this vehicle is really a gift to our Center and our community.”
Because the Center is committed to fair reimbursement, Gilberg said, the car will reduce costs in transportation and will help clients who are experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, who need to register for school or who need access to medical appointments. In addition, Allstate filled the car with supplies for homeless clients— such as deodorant, toothbrushes and shampoo— and art supplies and snacks for the youth programs at the Center.
When Allstate first found the car to donate, it needed serious work, which is where Caliber Collision stepped in.
[aesop_image img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Donation-4.jpg” credit=”Zoe Adler | Signal Tribune” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Allstate filled a donated Honda Civic with supplies for homeless clients— such as deodorant, toothbrushes and shampoo— and art supplies and snacks for the youth programs at the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] “We did a safety inspection [and] some service work to it,” explained Center Manager of Caliber Collision Long Beach Michael Rodriguez. “We painted it [and] detailed it.”
While the donation was the 150th via the Recycled Rides gifting program, it was Caliber Collision Long Beach’s first time participating. In appreciation for the donation, Tim Patton, senior administrative deputy for Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia who serves as LGBT liaison, presented both Allstate and Caliber Collision with awards commending them for their services to the LGBTQ community of Long Beach.
“We are always trying to build toward better representation with the [LGBTQ] community and more support for the community,” Patton said. “We’re just happy to have this happen, especially in Pride Month.”
Gilberg said the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach serves about 25,000 people per year through an after-school youth program, senior services, domestic violence services [and] mental-health counseling.
“Having a vehicle that is all ours,” he explained, “is really going to allow us to make sure our clients— the folks that are in the most need— are going to be able to get to where they need to go and access the services they need to empower themselves to live their lives to the fullest.”