NEWS
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Is your car “Back To The Office” ready?
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Emergency Car Kit Guide
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Professional, Friendly, Clean, Quick Service
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A Family Atmosphere at Your Nearest Auto Shop
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Full Circle Auto Repair & Training Center Shops still offering repairs
HALETHROPE, Md. — Vehicles For Change's Full Circle Repair Shop on Washington Boulevard in Halethorpe is open.
Vehicles For Change accepts donated cars, repair them and awards them to families.
Formerly incarcerated men and women are also trained there to become auto mechanics.
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Marylanders in Congress are pushing to help an influx of ex-prisoners find new life after incarceration
WATCH VIDEO ON THE BALTIMORE SUN
Vehicles for Change's Full Circle Auto Repair & Training Center is a program that teaches the formerly incarcerated to become mechanics.
Maryland lawmakers in Washington are promoting a flurry of bills they say are critical to ease the return to society of hundreds of thousands of prisoners a year and prevent them from slipping back into crime.
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Nonprofit helping those previously incarcerated receives huge donationBALTIMORE — A million-dollar donation has made it possible for a nonprofit in Baltimore to expand. The Full Circle Auto Repair and Training Center in the Waverly neighborhood takes incarcerated inmates and those recently released, trains them to become ASE-certified auto technicians and connects them with jobs.
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Change Your Oil – Change A Life!When you bring your car in for an oil change, you’re not only provided fast, friendly and efficient service, you’re also investing in your community! All funds generated directly support the mission of our parent organization, Vehicles for Change.
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After 21 years in prison, an ex-offender has a job — and a better futureNewly released after serving 21 years in Maryland prisons, Sean Howard may surprise some when they hear he believes his future looks bright. He’s optimistic, appreciative and confident. That’s because while he was behind bars, he had worked to acquire the two most important ingredients for a successful reentry into society. An education and a job.
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Coming Full CircleBefore entering the Full Circle Auto Repair & Training Center program, Perry had tried his best to prepare for re-entering society. However, with limited technical skills and training, his opportunities were limited....
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Preparing your car in Code Blue weatherIt’s cold outside, and that might be an understatement. With Code Blue weather, it’s time to consider the health of your car. So what should you do?
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A Winning Holiday with Full Circle Service Center!You are looking at a winner! Bryant Ferguson was the winner of the Baltimore Ravens tickets given away just before Christmas. Ferguson, who said he had never won anything in his life was able to win the coveted Ravens vs. Colts game tickets for the Saturday, December 23rd game where the Ravens were battling to keep their playoff dreams alive.
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Win a pair of tickets to this Saturday’s Raven’s gamethe season to have purple passion! Bring your car to Full Circle Service Center through Wednesday, December 20th, and be entered for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Ravens game this Saturday, December 23rd at 4:30pm!*
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Automotive Reentry Program at Full Circle Featured on WJZ-TV’s ‘On Time’This Sunday, Full Circle Service Center Director, Nikki Zaahir and former automotive intern, Anthony Watkins will appear on the WJZ-13 public affairs show, On Time. On-air anchor, Tracey Leong is the host of the show that highlights local community organizations, events and programs. This Sunday’s show will focus on the success of the Vehicles for Change (VFC) prison reentry internship program and its unprecedented recidivism rate.
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A Full Circle Alumnus Pays It Forward on MondaysChris Nelson is a father, a grandfather and a technician at an automotive dealership in Bel Air, MD, and after a long day of work, he is happy to go home and be in the house. This wasn’t always what the now 39-year-old Nelson was happy to do. In fact, he says he was always running and often getting involved in things he should not have, which led to him spending 18 of his 39 years in prison.
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Share Former Automotive Intern Anthony Watkins’ Inspirational Reentry and Restoration StoryOn Monday, November 27th, Vehicles for Change presented its new prison reentry video featuring former intern, Anthony Watkins, at a premiere at Nacho Mama's in Towson, MD. The event was to bring awareness to prison reentry issues by sharing the video on social media while showcasing the success of the program at Full Circle Service Center. The success of the program lies in its ability to save a life from the countless, looming traps of recidivism.
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Enjoy Great Deals for Customer Appreciation Week! (Dec 4th – Dec 9th)Customer Appreciation Week at Full Circle Service Center is our time to let our customers know how much we appreciate them. As always, we do it with service with a heart and great prices. Join us during the week of December 4th through December 9th for daily deals, gifts and prizes.We will also be announcing the winner of our Help for the Holidays contest when a deserving individual will be awarded a $500 gift certificate for much-needed auto repairs.
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When you come back, check-in on Facebook for a discountWe know that you are busy and auto maintenance may not be on the top of your list of favorite things. We get it! You have places to go, people to see and things to do.That's fine, but when you do come back for service at Full Circle Service Center, don't forget to check-in on Facebook to get an additional 5% discount!
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Expectations of Your Service Department“Service with a heart” is one of our mottos at Full Circle Service Center. The face of that service in our Halethorpe location is Service Expert, Bud Hill. His jovial, witty and folksy character are just some of the reasons customers trust him with their maintenance and repairs. Bud is extremely experienced, with almost thirty years of working in service at One Stop Auto Repair in Baltimore City.*
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We’re giving away a $500 gift certificate during our ‘Help for the Holidays’ campaignFull Circle Service Center knows that everybody can use a little help sometimes, and that is why we provide service with a heart every day! This is the second year Full Circle Service Center will present it's Help for the Holidays campaign because help is especially useful during the gift-giving season when bills can stack up like mountains. For the second year in a row, we are giving away a $500 gift certificate for auto repair at Full Circle Service Center. The gift certificate will be awarded to a deserving individual or family in need of auto repair help.
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Patrice Banks shares tips from her new book ‘Girls Auto Cinic Glove Box Guide’ at the Women and Wheels Car Care ClinicAuthor and Girls Auto Clinic Repair Center owner, Patrice Banks, brought her workshop to the Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic. She shared basic tips that help women feel empowered about what's under the hood of their own cars. These same tips are found in her new book Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide.
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Patrice Banks and her Girls Auto Clinic are coming to Full Circle Service CenterVehicles for Change is proud to announce that automotive sheCANic, Patrice Banks and her Girls Auto Clinic is coming to Full Circle Service Center on Saturday, September 30th from 1-3 pm to promote her new book Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide.
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Former Full Circle Intern Chris White Received the Most Important KeyFormer Full Circle Service Center automotive intern, Chris White, has a lot to be happy about these days because he holds a pair of special keys. The keys are special because in order to receive them he had to earn the trust of his grandfather, Herbert Berkley, a longtime mechanic and auto repair shop owner, affectionately known to family and friends as “Big Herb.”
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Are you Linkedin to Our Facebook and other Social Media Pages?If you are on Facebook, give us a "Like" and be linked to the behind the scenes activity at Full Circle Service Center and Vehicles for Change. Be the first to know about auto repair and maintenance deals, Full Circle events as well as the progress of our automotive interns as they pursue ASE training and job placement.
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Hit the road for National Hot Dog Day!It’s National Hot Dog Day! Since this national day of appreciation is comfortably situated during a lazy, hazy, crazy day of summer, why not hit the road to celebrate this delightful and delicious national treasure.
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Vehicles for Change’s auto repair shop enters fleet partnership with Bon SecourVehicles for Change and Bon Secour Community Services have entered into a fleet maintenance partnership. It will serve both organizations in a multitude of ways. For Bon Secour, the organization will be able to have all of their vehicles serviced at VFC’s repair shop, Full Circle Service Center, for a very affordable price with a quick turnaround time. The contract marks the first major fleet maintenance partnership for Full Circle Service Center.
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Full Circle Celebrates Customer Appreciation Week from June 12th – June 16thIt’s our 2nd Anniversary! Full Circle Service Center is two-years-old! Breaking the mold of a regular auto repair shop, Full Circle Service Center’s social enterprise model has relied heavily upon you, our faithful customers. We are appreciative of all of the support we’ve gained over the past two years and we want you to know it! So we are celebrating Customer Appreciation Week from June 12th - June 16th. During Customer Appreciation Week, we will feature a special service each day. Look at what we have in store for you!
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RSVP for the Solutions for Successful Prison Reentry Town Hall Meeting on April 26thLast year Vehicles for Change presented the first Solutions for Successful Prison Reentry Town Hall Meeting at Full Circle Service Center. Moderated by WYPR's Fraser Smith, the town hall focused on issues affecting returning citizens.
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Get the benefit of being on Full Circle’s mailing listWhat's better than getting Full Circle Service Center's affordable rates and service with a heart? Absolutely nothing but there are benefits to keeping in contact with us by signing up for our mailing list. Ask our Service Advisor to sign up for the mailing list so you can get coupons as well as access to the latest news and events about Full Circle Service Center and Vehicles for Change.
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Ladies Get Car Care Aware at the Women and Wheels Car Care ClinicThe Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic took place at Full Circle Service Center on Saturday, June 25th and the women were "all in." After having a few refreshments and finding out about how the auto repair shop helps fund the mission of Vehicles for Change, the women reviewed their Car Care Aptitude Quiz with Full Circle Lead Instructor, Wayne Farrar. Although, there were no perfect scores, there was a perfect opportunity to get the answers they needed.
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Ladies are in the driver’s seat at the Women and Wheels Car Care ClinicIt's nice when you go to an event especially created for you. It's like a birthday or surprise party where every detail is crafted with you in mind. That's much like what you can expect from Full Circle Service Center's Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic on Saturday, March 4th from 12-2:30pm.
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A spectacular road ahead for the former automotive interns at Full CircleVehicles for Change (VFC) is known for changing lives with donated cars. The cars are awarded to working individuals that normally would not be able to purchase a vehicle. Some of those people happen to be the automotive interns that come through VFC's Center for Automotive Careers program to work at Full Circle Service Center.
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State Auto Inspections at Full Circle Service CenterFull Circle Service Center is now offering state auto inspections! Schedule an appointment now and get your inspection done at the introductory rate of $59.95.
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Governor Hogan witnesses agreement between Vehicles for Change and the MTAOn Tuesday, December 13, 2016, Vehicles for Change (VFC) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) signed a landmark partnership agreement, which will enable ex-offenders interning at VFC’s auto repair shop, Full Circle Service Center, to qualify to be hired to work on MTA’s fleet of buses.
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Congratulations to Help for the Holidays Winner Bonita JohnsonFull Circle Service Center announced the winner of its Help for the Holidays campaign on Wednesday, November 16th. Bonita Johnson was clearly overwhelmed as she accepted her gift certificate for $500 in auto repairs from the staff and techs at Full Circle Service Center
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Media Alert: Full Circle Service Center chooses a winner for its ‘Help for Holidays’ campaignFull Circle Service Cener will award $500 in auto repairs to the winner of its Help for the Holidays campaign on Wednesday, November 16th.
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Three Things You Should Know about Full Circle Service CenterYou might think Full Circle Service Center is just an auto repair shop, but there are three very important things you should know about us!
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Six reasons why Full Circle Service Center is giving away $500 in auto repairs for the holidaysWhy is Full Circle Service Center giving away $500 in auto repairs to a deserving family/individual for the holidays? It's simple...we believe in providing service with a heart! Times are tough and auto repairs can be expensive so as a subsidiary of nonprofit organization, Vehicles for Change, we understand just how much working cars mean to the success, health, growth and well-being of people.
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Help us to give a deserving recipient auto repair help for the holidays!Full Circle Service Center is launching its first-ever 'Help for the Holidays!' campaign. Help for the Holidays will assist a deserving family (or individuals) with assistance to get their car repaired. Find out how you can help us!
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Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic Returns this Fall!Ladies, grab your toolbox! On second thought, we'll handle the tools...just get here for the next installment of the Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic on Saturday, October 15th from 12 to 2:30pm. Women handle the majority of decisions about the cars in their household, and there is so much to learn. So let's talk about it! Full Circle provides a quarterly hands-on, interactive clinic to give women a place to ask questions about how to care for their cars.
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Full Circle Success Story: Omari JenningsOmari Jennings, an energetic good-natured 25-year old Baltimore City native, once thought that his passion was music. The former deejay, who worked in radio, was convinced that he would pursue this passion as a career. That is, until he had the opportunity to work on a car— that’s when he learned his true passion.
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Is Your Car in Olympic Shape?This summer famous Olympians Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky have struck gold at the Rio Olympics. Both Olympians combined have 9 gold and two silver medals this summer! As of today the US is absolutely dominating the Rio Olympics, with a combined medal count of 100! The US has also made an improvement in the few sports we’ve never won gold in, like women’s wrestling and women’s handball.
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Heat WaveThis summer has been hotter than ever! The month of June was the hottest recorded month in the past 136 years! These sky-high temperatures have affected everyone up and down the east coast. Extreme heat and humidity cannot only make you extremely dehydrated but can even cause death.
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Ellicott City Flood Hits Home for Vehicles for Change EmployeeOn Saturday, July 30th, the historic old town of Ellicott City was struck with a torrential downfall. The severe flood shook residents, business owners and visitors to their core as they watched cars floating down Main Street and witnessed people fleeing from the vicious currents coming from the Tiber River. Two people died in the storm and many buildings were damaged or essentially destroyed.
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Full Circle Service Center joins the fun at National Night Out in HalethorpeOn August 2nd, community and leadership groups around Baltimore will be celebrating National Night Out. It’s a night unlike any other; people join together and say “no” to crime in their neighborhood.
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Make Roadside Assistance a Non-factorAccording to the AAA (American Automobile Association), more than 29-million calls were made to roadside assistance last year. The majority of calls were for problems that every American should know how to fix on their own! AAA also reported that 35 percent of Americans have skipped or delayed service that was recommended by a mechanic or specified factory maintenance schedule. The three most common breakdowns/reasons why people need assistance are for batteries, tires, and keys. These are all easy fixes. Take note so these issues don’t ruin your day!
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Drive-In Movie NightSummer is going to be over before you know it! Why not spend some of your last nice summer nights at Maryland’s most impressive Drive-In movie theatre, Bengies. Bengies is located in Middle River and is home to the biggest movie theatre screen in the USA! Bengies features triple features on almost every Friday and Saturday night, classic cartoons, vintage trailers, intermissions clips, and dusk till dawn shows. Drive-in movies are perfect for family bonding or even a hot date.
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July is National Parks and Recreations MonthSince 1985, America has celebrated July as National Parks and Recreation month. And what better way to celebrate than taking a day off and enjoying a few of Maryland’s 40 state parks! Whether your ideal day trip is taking the family out for a planned beach day at Sandy point or going on a spontaneous drive to explore the hiking trails of Cunningham Falls, there are adventures to be found and memories to be made. Whatever you choose . . . go explore, be active, and see what Maryland has to offer!
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What a Year it’s Been at Full Circle Service Center!Full Circle Service Center celebrated one year of business on June 17, 2016. The staff and all of Vehicles for Change (VFC) helped celebrate the great strides that have been made over the 365-day whirlwind of a year. Last year when VFC president, Martin Schwartz as well as the first class of Full Circle techs cut the grand-opening day ribbon, lives were changed and VFC's entry into a social enterprise was solidified.
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Join us for the Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic on Saturday, June 25th!On Saturday, June 25th from 12-2:30pm, Full Circle Service Center will present the Women and Wheels Car Care Clinic. The clinic is an interactive and hands-on class providing basic information about what's under the hood. Participants will also take a self-assessment to find out about their personal level of car care knowledge.
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An ASE Presentation Celebration!What an accomplishment it was when Full Circle interns, past and present received over 40 Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications. In fact, it was so important that Vehicles for Change president,Martin Schwartz, insisted on a celebration and presentation of the certificates.