CREF reported a 46% increase in applications for the 2025-26 awards, which help offset education expenses for high school and college collision repair students.
The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) has distributed more than $275,000 in combined tuition assistance and tool grants to 163 high school and college collision repair students nationwide, after recording a 46% spike in applications compared to the previous year. Those are clear signals of growing engagement between industry and education to sustain future workforce pipelines.
CREF delivered $181,900 in direct scholarship funds and nearly $50,000 in tool donations, distributed through in-kind contributions. These grants were made possible by partnerships with major players including State Farm, PPG Foundation, Hertz, LKQ, OE M Roundtable, BASF, CCC, JW Bagley Foundation, 3M’s Hire Our Heroes, Global Finishing Solutions, I-CAR, Erie Insurance, Fix Auto USA and the Women’s Industry Network (WIN).
This broad support delivered significant awards—for example, State Farm contributed $40,000, which funded scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. The PPG Foundation awarded $37,000 across 13 recipients; 3M’s Hire Our Heroes supported five military veterans; and WIN provided $34,500 in scholarships plus $10,000 in tool kits to 40 female students.
Notably, the 2025 cohort marked a shift in industry demographics: more than 70% of recipients are women or other minorities, with 42% identifying as female, 46% identifying as non Caucasian, and just over 25% identifying as Hispanic or Latino. CREF credits WIN’s collaboration for a portion of this trend but sees it as indicative of broader cultural change.
Among the recipients announced were two winners of scholarships established to recognize industry icons.
The third annual Jeff Silver Memorial Scholarship, valued at $2,000, was awarded to Shania Taylor-Harbor, a student at Southern California Regional Occupational Center in Bakersfield, CA. Established in December 2022, the Jeff Silver Memorial Scholarship honors the memory and long-lasting legacy of Jeff Silver, a respected trailblazer and leader in industry repair standards. Due to Silver’s love for the collision industry and dedication to ensuring that the next generation would enjoy the same opportunities within the field, his family believes the Jeff Silver Memorial Scholarship, designed to help remove financial barriers for students studying collision repair, is the perfect way to continue the legacy he left behind.
Through the Sulkala Family Scholarship, Enoc Portillo, a student at Texas Southmost College in Brownsville, TX, received a $1,000 scholarship. Administered by CREF, the Sulkala Family Scholarship was created to honor the 50-year career and legacy of Chuck Sulkala, founder and former executive director of the National Auto Body Council (NABC), who retired in 2018.
See a complete list of recipients on CREF’s website.
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