BETHESDA, Md. — Women in Auto Care (WiAC), a community of the Auto Care Association, reached record year for its scholarship program, distributing 96 awards worth $300,000 in both cash scholarships and starter tool sets, to female students across the U.S. seeking a career in the auto care industry.
The Women in Auto Care scholarship program began in 2004 with $2,000 and has continued to gain momentum each year, the group said. This year the program nearly doubled the record set in 2021.
The scholarships were supported by WiAC sponsors and member donations, as well as tool partnerships with Genuine Parts/NAPA and Acuity Insurance.
"We know that the cost of toolkits can be a major barrier for students and new techs entering the field because of the cost associated with them," Chelsea Burriss, a product analyst at Acuity, said.
"We want to help remove that barrier so that those individuals who have interest in pursuing a career in auto care have one less expense to worry about and can feel confident entering their education with a high-quality tool set," she said.
"Hundreds of women received scholarships which allowed them to pursue their goal of a career in the auto care industry thanks to the generosity of an entire community," WiAC Chair Jessica Toliuszis said.
Women in Auto Care will again partner with DRiV/Garage Gurus for an additional $35,000 in awards for a spring program. The recipients of those awards will be announced at AAPEX, Nov. 1-3, in Las Vegas.
