Robert Hanson hadn't owned a car in 2 years. On September 23, a classroom full of auto body students in Minneapolis handed him the keys to one they'd rebuilt themselves.

  • 2 years without his own vehicle before this gift
  • 2020 Hyundai Elantra SEL donated and fully refurbished for him
  • 1993–1997 the years Hanson served as a U.S. Navy airman
  • 3 organizations — Allstate, Dunwoody College, and NABC — partnered to make it happen

A Car That Started as a Wreck

Hanson, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as an airman from 1993 to 1997, has lived with severe asthma and fibromyalgia since leaving the military — conditions that make public transportation extremely difficult. For two years, he got by without a vehicle of his own, walking to appointments and to buy groceries.

That changed through the NABC Recycled Rides for Schools program, run by the nonprofit National Auto Body Council. Insurance company Allstate donated a 2020 Hyundai Elantra SEL that had been recovered after a serious collision — the kind of car that would normally be written off entirely.

Instead, it went to students in the Automotive Collision and Refinishing program at Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, who spent months rebuilding it from the damage up.

Students Meet the Reason They Worked

Hanson was referred to the program through Hennepin County's homeless access services after reaching out for help getting around. When the Elantra was finally presented to him at Dunwoody's campus, the students who'd spent months on the bodywork got to meet the person their effort was actually for.

"I was so happy to see that he was happy to have literally a brand-new car, and we were able to be a part of that," said collision student Abbie Vera, according to CBS News Minnesota.

Brian Briske, assistant professor of Automotive Collision & Refinishing at Dunwoody, told the crowd the exchange was about more than transportation. "Today, we aren't just giving away a set of keys," Briske said. "We're handing over a tool to help transformation."

"I'm just blown away and so thankful to everybody involved," said Hanson. "So now I can finally shop at more reasonable places and buy in bulk, and whatever you need a vehicle. I'll be able to get out there and enjoy life again."

What the Program Gives Back

The Recycled Rides for Schools model works for everyone involved. Insurers like Allstate get a responsible way to retire totaled vehicles. Technical students get real-world bodywork experience on an actual repair, not a simulation. And recipients like Hanson — nominated through local social service agencies rather than nominated by themselves — get a vehicle that's been rebuilt with real care rather than handed over as a bare-minimum donation.

For Hanson, the practical change is immediate: easier access to medical appointments, the ability to buy groceries in bulk instead of carrying them home on foot, and a measure of independence he'd gone without for two years. For the Dunwoody students, it was a rare chance to see their technical training translate directly into someone else's better day — the kind of full-circle moment that a repair shop rarely gets to witness firsthand.

The National Auto Body Council runs Recycled Rides chapters with schools across the country, meaning Hanson's Elantra is just one of many vehicles moving from total-loss writeoffs to someone's daily lifeline this year.