FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/23/2020
Veterans Integration Centers Joins with One Community Auto
to Support Veteran Families Now Launching a New Vehicle Donation Quick Web Link for Potential Donors
(Albuquerque, NM) – The Veteran’s Integration Centers (VIC) offer homeless Veterans hope for a new life and a bright future. Today, the VIC is announcing that they are partnering with a local car dealership, One Community Auto, to create a one-step option to donate vehicles in support of the VIC mission. A new link on the VIC’s website is now live.
The Veterans Integration Center (VIC®), A 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2005, is a resource for Veterans and their families in New Mexico. The VIC provides a multitude of services including multiple housing assistance options, peer support, food and nutrition, and case management services to Veterans, their families and the community. As a proactive and innovative agency that primarily serves literally and at-risk homeless Veterans and their families, the VIC’s extensive outreach efforts have earned a trusted reputation from numerous communities across the state, especially in the expansive rural areas where few resources exist for our highly rural Veteran and Native American populations throughout New Mexico.
In November 2019, the VIC opened its new Transitional Housing campus in Albuquerque’s SE Heights. The facility can house up to 50 individual homeless Veterans, including Veteran families of up to four people.
In addition to providing safe and comfortable living accommodations, the VIC coordinates a myriad of physical and mental health services to help residents prepare to reenter the job market. Residents go on to living independently and creating new, productive lives in the community. The VIC is supported in part by the Veteran’s Administration, which provides health care and funding to nonprofits to support a portion of the costs for housing services. But, the VIC, which has offices in Albuquerque and Alamogordo, and provides services statewide, depends heavily on grants and donations to allow them to continue serving this fragile population who so willingly served for our freedom. In addition to providing safe housing and supportive services to vulnerable Veteran Families, the VIC also operates a weekly food pantry at their East Central location, where they serve over 1300 low-income and indigent families, helping boost their ability to get nutritional food products and reduce the growing food insecurity in our community.
One Community Auto (OCA) is owned by Gary Peterson, USAF-Ret., who formed the company to provide an outlet for helping non-profits in our community and state. OCA handles vehicle donations of all types for 52 non-profits, refurbishing donated vehicles and selling them on its car lot or through its monthly online auction https://rt66auctions.hibid.com Designated charities receive funds to help support their mission, and donors get a great tax deduction. OCA handles donated vehicles from all areas of New Mexico. Visit www.onecommunityauto.com to learn more about how you can help.