The Car Care Council has announced its partnership with Family Service Day, an award-winning organization with a mission to help independent automotive businesses “do well by doing good.” Family Service Day’s flagship initiative, called “Keeping Cars Kickin’,” is a program through which repair shop owners and employees across the country provide necessary preventative maintenance and car-care education at no charge to local families who need help caring for their vehicles.

“We are thrilled to welcome Family Service Day as a partner in our efforts to strengthen the automotive industry and provide services designed to make vehicles last longer, perform better and keep drivers safer,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “The Family Service Day program parallels the mission of our organization to promote the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair.”

Family Service Day provides member shops with a step-by-step blueprint, coaching and online resources that enable independent shops large and small to host successful local events, even with no prior marketing or event management experience.

“By utilizing our talents as automotive technicians to help local families who need a ‘hand up,’ independent automotive repair shops make a direct impact on their communities and attract ongoing positive attention for their efforts,” said Marcotte.

Founded in 2009 by shop owner Charlie Marcotte, Family Service Day has grown from a single-shop grassroots effort to a national cause-marketing initiative available to automotive repair shops in all 50 states. Shops in 14 states held Family Service Day events on the company’s first national day of service on Nov. 7, 2015. Families were pre-selected and referred by local and national non-profit partners. Local businesses pitched in by sponsoring the events and providing in-kind donations to make the day a fun-filled event for the children and their families.

In addition to individual shop events held throughout the year, preparations for the company’s next national day of service on Oct. 15 are underway. Shops interested in becoming Family Service Day service providers can click here.