Mercury Insurance Partners with Valley Motor Center to Donate a Vehicle to Disabled American Veterans

VAN NUYS, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2012) – Mercury Insurance will once again welcome the holiday season by donating a special gift to disabled veterans – a set of wheels. Mercury will partner with Valley Motor Center in Van Nuys and Recycled Rides, a nationwide car donation program, to present a refurbished Toyota Sienna minivan and $250 gas card to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) California Chapter on Monday, Dec. 10.

This will mark Mercury’s third-annual contribution to Recycled Rides, a project in which damaged cars provided by insurance companies are fixed and donated to local charities. The program began when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast and collision repair shops across the nation began responding to individuals in need.

“Mercury is committed helping those in need on a local, grass roots level, and organizations like Recycled Rides are perfect partners to help us serve the communities in which we live, work and play,” said Eric Mark, manager of Mercury’s Customer Authorized Repair Service program. “This donation to Disabled American Veterans will go a long way in helping them provide a critical service to those who served our country, and we are pleased to assist with their much-needed efforts.”

The vehicle will be presented during a key exchange ceremony hosted by Valley Motor Center on December 10 at 10:30 a.m. The event, which includes a second vehicle donated by Farmer’s Insurance, will feature speeches from State Senator Fran Pavley, Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield and DAV California State Commander Kirk Johnson.

“We are grateful to have Valley Motor Center, Mercury Insurance and Farmers Insurance helping to ease transportation burdens for our veterans,” said Dan Contreras, California DAV Adjutant. “The cars will be used to transport disabled veterans and family members to and from medical facilities for treatment, physical therapy and rehabilitation, as well as to and from community events.”

ABOUT MERCURY INSURANCE (www.mercuryinsurance.com) Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization predominantly offering personal automobile and homeowners insurance through a network of independent agents in Florida, Georgia, California, New Jersey, Arizona, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Since 1962, Mercury has specialized in offering quality insurance at affordable prices – core values that distinguish Mercury in the marketplace.