As part of our ongoing support of military members and their families, we recently joined forces with Progressive® Insurance, the National Auto Body Council (NABC) and others in the collision industry for the third annual Keys to Progress® program. The one-day, nationwide event provided more than 130 newly refurbished vehicles to deserving military members and their families on Veterans Day. The recipients were selected by local VFW chapters and other veteran organizations.

The Keys to Progress vehicle giveaways, spearheaded by Progressive, took place at 60 Progressive Service Centers across the country. For the third consecutive year, Enterprise provided six months of automobile insurance for each donated vehicle to ensure recipients were well covered. We also helped transport families to the giveaway events.

“With our rich military heritage and strong relationships within the collision repair industry, continuing our collaboration with the Keys to Progress program was a natural choice,” said Mary M., vice president, insurance replacement division for Enterprise. “Keys to Progress is one of the ways we aim to make life better for those who have dedicated their lives to helping us.”

Progressive worked in collaboration with local NABC member collision repair centers to recycle and donate vehicles involved or recovered in a claim. The vehicles were fully restored as an extension of the NABC’s Recycled Rides program, a collision industry wide collaboration to repair and donate vehicles to those in need.

At Enterprise, the Keys to Progress program reinforces our commitment to strengthening the local communities where we operate. Within those local communities throughout the U.S., Enterprise employees hosted special fundraising events in advance of Veterans Day to provide extra donations to the Keys to Progress recipients. In Pittsburgh, for example, Enterprise employees organized a charity pinball tournament, chili cook off, “Pie in your Face” contest, car wash and cookout, raising more than $700 to benefit their local Keys to Progress award recipients.

Our support for Keys to Progress is rooted in a commitment to the military that goes back nearly six decades. Enterprise gets its name from the USS Enterprise, one of the aircraft carriers on which company founder Jack Taylor served as a U.S. Navy pilot during World War II. In addition, nearly 13 percent of Enterprise’s total workforce is made up of military veterans or reservists.