Loyalty Toyota donates car to Reynolds Community College automotive program

Automotive Technology students at Reynolds Community College have a new way to learn, courtesy of Loyalty Toyota.

On Monday, the Chester dealership donated a used Toyota Prius Hybrid to the school’s Automotive Technology Program, where it will serve as a powerful teaching tool for today’s increasingly popular hybrid vehicles.

“Our partnership with Reynolds Community College continues to usher in a new generation of well-trained auto repair technicians to the Loyalty family,” said Loyalty Automotive President Dave Perno. “We’re thrilled to be able to help these students learn, grow and accelerate their careers.”

The car, with more than 200,000 miles on its odometer, was reconditioned in Loyalty’s service bays before being sent to the college and will serve as an ideal training vehicle for Reynolds students, Perno said.

Loyalty already provides $200,000 in scholarship money to train 10 students in the two-year program. Students work three days a week in Loyalty Toyota’s Chester service department while studying at Reynolds to be certified as Toyota Expert Technicians. Loyalty also provides a $5,000 tool kit to qualifying candidates and offers successful candidates a job at Loyalty when their training is done.

“Reynolds Community College is grateful for Loyalty’s support in helping us provide our students with real, affordable, hands-on automotive training and solid career opportunities,” said Paula Pando, president of Reynolds. “It’s partnerships like these that help our students, our college and our community grow.”

Dealerships nationwide face a shortage of technicians, and a stream of baby boomer-era technicians retiring in growing numbers every year is presenting more challenges.

Perno said the program at Reynolds Community College is a unique opportunity for students to join his company’s team right out of college and an opportunity for Loyalty to give back to the community it serves.

“We know this Prius hybrid will help Reynolds Community College students gain the certified training they need to succeed in the industry, and start a successful career at Loyalty Toyota when their training is complete,” Perno said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”