Automotive Program for Oregon Teens Receives Donation for Expansion

A youth community center in Oregon offering automotive education to local teens has received a donation allowing it to construct a facility for its program, reports the Polk County Itemizer-Observer.

For the past three years, the Gate’s Automotive Mechanic Club, run through the Gate Community Youth Center, was having to conduct its lessons under a canopy outside on gravel. Now, with a $13,000 donation from Ag West and the Developing Successful People Foundation, a 20-foot by 30-foot shop will be built this summer by the Gate’s Construction Club, with the Auto Mechanics Club beginning its practice there next fall.

The Auto Club is conducted in partnership with David Mohr, a local technician at Mohr’s Automotive. With the new facility, Mohr will be able to hold an Automotive 101 class in mornings and evenings, where he’ll teach teens automotive basics such as how to change a tire, diagnostics, and oil changes.

Mohr and his class use their work to help benefit the community. The program works off of vehicles donated to them, and after they fix them up, they try to find someone in need to donate the vehicle to. Additionally, the class occasionally hosts oil clinics on Saturdays, where they provide free oil changes to low-income families.

With the new building, there are plans to expand the program’s curriculum and to recruit more students.