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The Piston Foundation Mission
Fueling The Careers of Future Collector Car Technicians
As car enthusiasts, we asked ourselves, “Who will replace the skilled automotive craftspeople retiring today and tomorrow?” The answer was, “No one knows.” So, we created a 501(c)(3) public charity to recruit, train, and support the next generation of craftspeople and unlock these career opportunities for everyone.
Piston helps young people jumpstart a career as a collector car technician. We award tech-school scholarships, connect aspiring technicians with jobs, and champion skilled trade careers in automotive restoration. Piston is nurturing the passion and talent of the next generation, working to ensure car-craft skills are passed on, and helping to create a diverse workforce with opportunity for everyone.
It’s not a lack of interest that keeps young people from careers as classic car technicians, it’s a lack of access.
The Piston Foundation helps young car enthusiasts turn their interest into a career by giving them access to the education, training, and job opportunities that teach these in-demand skills. There is a new generation who are interested in skilled trade careers. They want to work with their brains as well as their hands. They want to build something with their creativity and grit. The collector car industry needs more craftspeople like them and the Piston career initiative unlocks these career opportunities.
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From the Piston Blog
Piston Scholar Edwin Buiter Steps into Car Restoration
Edwin Buiter, of Ireton, Iowa, is an inaugural recipient of a Piston Scholarship and a student at McPherson College, at just 20 years old, has a collection of four classic cars and proudly and happily works on each of them. While he doesn’t have the budget of most classic car owners, he says, “cars are my passion and I make sacrifices in my life in order to own and maintain my vehicles.”
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.
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