Recycled Rides service project donates vehicle to local family

Seidner’s Collision Center presents refurbished 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee to Foothill Unity Center client family

Recycled Rides service project donates vehicle to local family

Seidner’s Collision Center presents refurbished 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee to Foothill Unity Center client family
A local family overwhelmed with joy were presented with a refurbished 2010 SUV courtesy of Seidner’s Collistion Center in Duarte Monday afternoon.
Hildebrand and Elena Llanto of Pasadena are raising three children, Rosa, 14, Vadim, 12, and Natasha, 6. Hildebrand was a driver with a private company for thirteen years. After their last car broke down, he switched to landscaping work closer to home. Elena has volunteered for ten years while raising her family. As Natasha reached school age, she re-entered the workforce part-time and is now looking for full-time employment. Despite a degree in Library Science and fluency in three languages, she was finding transportation a major barrier. To get the kids to school and get to work on time, her weekdays begin at 5:45 a.m. and walked an average of 8 miles a day.
All the children are involved in extracurricular activities — ballet at the community center, Boy Scouts, cross-country running. The parents either walk them there or take public transportation, which can be embarrassing for the kids. “Having a car here is a basic need, like food, shelter, and water,” says Elena. “It is not a luxury.” Although their current combined income is barely above the National Poverty Level, the family only relies on food from Foothill Unity Center and CalFresh funds to free some money for expenses. Now, they’re looking to find jobs that will allow them to prepare for their future and their children’s. Their Jeep Grand Cherokee gift is a dream come true for the whole family.
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The Silver 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee, fully refurbished by Seidner’s was equipped with new tires, accompanied by a one-year State Farm insurance policy. Presented as part of national Recycled Rides program to low-income family selected with help of Foothill Unity Center.
Recycled Rides is a nationwide community service project whereby members of the National Auto Body Council (NABC), including Seidner’s, donate vehicles to local families and service organizations in need. This “green” program, focused on vehicle and parts recycling, recruits insurers, paint suppliers, parts vendors and others to contribute to the project. Candidates, solicited from the local community, must meet five criteria: 1) valid driver’s license; 2) ability to maintain vehicle shown by proof of income; 3) safe driving record, insurable; 4) financially challenged; and 5) doesn’t own good working vehicle.
Founded in 1980, Foothill Unity Center is the primary provider of food, case management/crisis help, and access Foothill to health care resources across eleven San Gabriel Valley cities. As the federally designated Community Action Unity Agency for the Foothill Area, the Center operates two locations, in Monrovia and Pasadena, serving clients in Center: Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Monrovia, Bradbury, Duarte, Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale. 77% of its clients are at or below the National Poverty Level. In 2013, the Center served 10,478 unduplicated people at no cost to them.

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