In 2011, incoming eleventh grade Technical College High School (TCHS) Brandywine student, Jerry Warfel, was killed in a car accident. Through this tragedy, a spirit of collaboration and community service has emerged at TCHS Brandywine. The school’s second annual Car Show and Open House will be held on Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

After Warfel’s accident, his parents established the Warfel Foundation, which funds scholarships for TCHS students each year. They also donated a Chevy Nova to the school’s Automotive Collision Technology program that Warfel had planned to restore. Students and staff worked together to restore the car to Warfel’s exact specifications. Growing out of this restoration project, TCHS Brandywine hosted its first car show in 2013 to help raise funds for the Warfel Foundation and other student scholarships.

The Car Show and Open House will feature cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes. Antique cars, hot rods, muscle and classic cars, customs, bikes and tractors will all be on display. All of the food will be provided by culinary arts students. TCHS Brandywine will also be open for tours. Every classroom will be staffed with teachers and students for program demonstrations and to showcase student work.

The car displays, vendor exhibits, tours and demonstrations will be ongoing throughout the day. But the culminating event will be auto collision technology students presenting a restored car to a family in need as part of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program.

The car will be given away to a single father, Carey Smith, and his two young children, who have struggled with homelessness in the past. Smith has been steadily employed for the past eight years, but lost his housing as he struggled to pay for food, diapers, clothing and childcare for his children.

The 2008 Nissan Altima will be replacing a car that currently has more than 250,000 miles on it, requires constant repairs and gets low gas mileage.

All proceeds from the Car Show and Open House will help raise funds for college or post-secondary education scholarships. For more information, visit www.cciu.org/2014carshow.