a public charity
serving the
car community
our mission
Helping To Build a New Generation of Automotive Tradespeople
The Piston Foundation’s mission is to bring more young people into the collector car industry. By funding skilled trades programs in collector cars, we’re working to help today’s craftspeople transfer their skills to a new generation and help young technicians build rewarding careers in the trades and services of the collector car industry.
What we do
We direct the charitable giving from car enthusiasts back into the car community, helping to build awareness and respect for automotive skilled trade career choices.
Our goal is to fund skilled trade education for automotive students and to develop and establish vehicle restoration apprentices. We’re creating career opportunities for people who want to take a different path and we’re helping to build a new generation of automotive tradespeople.
Who We Serve
We support students seeking skilled trade education as an alternative path to a rewarding career, different from the “college-at-all-costs” approach and help working auto technicians find apprenticeship placement and achieve a career in collector car restoration and services.
We serve restoration shops and auto industry businesses who need skilled technicians and specialists ready to learn the craft and trade, and we serve the car enthusiast community who want to continue to enjoy their hobby, share their passion, and keep their beloved cars on the road.
we’re car enthusiasts, too
Everyone in our organization has a passion and a drive for keeping vintage, classic, and collector cars on the road.
Our founder, Robert P. Minnick, has always been a car guy and sees the Piston Foundation as the way in which he, and others like him, can give back and affect real positive change in the car community.
GIVE TO WHAT YOU LOVE
Young or old, we all love classic cars. A generation of craftspeople built rewarding careers keeping these cars on the road. Now they’re retiring and the collector car industry needs new technicians. Young people are interested in learning the trade, but they need help from the car community to get the education and hands-on training they need.
The high cost of education and limited access to hands-on training makes it difficult for young car enthusiasts to enter the auto restoration industry. Together, we can help aspiring technicians overcome these barriers and put them on a career path into the collector car industry.
From the Piston Blog
Brumos Ultimate Artists Book Auction Supports Piston Scholarships
We’re auctioning a one-of-a-kind artist edition of Sean Cridland’s book, “Brumos: An American Racing Icon.” The three-volume book set documents the famous Porsche racing team’s extensive 120-year history and features a hand-painted slipcase by motorsports artist Thiago Romero. This signed “author’s proof” will be a coveted collectible.
Piston Scholar Ethan Heck is Off to the Races
21-year-old Ethan Heck is a student at Lanier Technical College in Gainesville, Georgia, enrolled in the Motorsports Vehicle Technology program. While most recipients of the inaugural Piston Scholarships focus primarily on acquiring the skills to restore and/or work on classic and older cars, Ethan “stumbled across videos of stage rallying on the Internet,” at a young age and instantly knew he wanted to be a racing mechanic.
Piston Scholar Zoe Carmichael Loves Her Volkswagen
Zoe Carmichael, 27, is on the verge of turning her knack for repairing her beloved Volkswagen into a restoration profession. She is a non-traditional student at McPherson College and one of the inaugural recipients of the Piston Fund Scholarships in 2022 for students who wish to pursue hands-on careers in the collector car industry.
Sponsor a Piston Scholar
Piston Foundation scholarships are awarded to aspiring technicians to help them begin an auto restoration career. Give to the car culture you love. 100% goes to fund scholarships.
Become a Piston Founder
The Founders Club is a unique group of car enthusiasts and collectors who are helping us provide skilled trade education and create career opportunities in the collector car industry.
Be a Sponsor or Underwriter
The Piston Foundation offers a unique opportunity for businesses and private foundations to support the education and training of aspiring technicians and serve the grassroot needs of their customers and communities.
Sponsor a Piston Scholar
Piston Foundation scholarships are awarded to aspiring technicians to help them begin an auto restoration career. Give to the car culture you love. 100% goes to fund scholarships.
Become a Piston Founder
The Founders Club is a unique group of car enthusiasts and collectors who are helping us provide skilled trade education and create career opportunities in the collector car industry.
Be a Sponsor or Underwriter
The Piston Foundation offers a unique opportunity for businesses and private foundations to support the education and training of aspiring technicians and serve the grassroot needs of their customers and communities.
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