El Camino College Auto Collision Repair & Painting Program Receives Major In-Kind Donations and Support from Industry Partners
El Camino College’s Auto Collision Repair & Painting (ACRP) program has received a series of generous in-kind donations and grants from key industry organizations throughout 2024 and 2025, bolstering hands-on training opportunities for students pursuing careers in automotive collision repair and refinishing.
In late 2024, ACRP was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), sponsored by Wesco Autobody Supply. With the help of Tim Jackson and Matthew Tee of the Automobile Club of Southern California, the program leveraged the grant funds to purchase two minimally damaged vehicles—a 2016 Ford Fiesta and a 2016 GMC Terrain—as well as 20 small toolboxes for student use. These vehicles are now key resources for students to gain real-world repair experience in an educational lab setting.
In early spring 2025, CREF once again supported El Camino College when a national vendor offered to donate multiple decommissioned electric and hybrid vehicles to schools across the country. As part of this initiative, ACRP received a 2019 Ford Fusion Hybrid in near-perfect condition except for its missing battery. This vehicle provides students with valuable exposure to hybrid vehicle construction, safety, and repair processes, preparing them for the evolving automotive landscape.
In July 2025, the Los Angeles I-CAR Committee and Oz Nieves of the Auto Collision Group (ACG) facilitated the donation of two gently used Glasurit waterborne paint toner systems valued at more than $114,000. These systems represent state-of-the-art refinishing technology used by top collision centers nationwide. Following this gift, Filander Navarrete, training instructor at BASF, further enhanced ACRP’s resources by upgrading the program’s color management software to Refinity, providing advanced digital color-matching capabilities along with extensive online training and support.
“ACRP could not possibly do what we do without in-kind donations from our donors and partners,” said Pati Fairchild, full time faculty member of El Camino College’s Auto Collision Repair & Painting program. “Teachers are known for spending hundreds or even thousands of their own dollars on class supplies to make sure students are getting the best training possible, and ACRP instructors are no different. As budgets shrink and costs rise, I run out of words to express how much these donations and grants mean to us, and how vital they are in helping us create the best, industry-ready graduates. Thank you!”
These contributions underscore the strong partnerships between El Camino College and the automotive collision repair industry, ensuring that students continue to train on modern equipment and technology that reflect current industry standards.
El Camino College, located in Torrance, California, offers high-quality, affordable education and career training programs to serve the diverse communities of the South Bay. The Auto Collision Repair & Painting program provides hands-on instruction in structural and non-structural repair, refinishing, and estimating, and preparing graduates for rewarding careers in the automotive repair industry. For more information about the ACRP program or to make a donation to the program, please contact Pati Fairchild at [email protected].