After a massive hail storm in early April brought them success, folks at 5W Collision Repair are giving back to the community.
On Thursday morning owner Jason Weir and his wife, Brandi, donated two checks for $2,550 each to two Denton non-profits.
It’s the start of the shop’s campaign to donate $100 from each car repair to needy causes.
"This is something we very passionately believe in,” said Jason.
It’s also something that’s gotten a lot easier recently.
Weir said the family has faced struggles from personal medical issues to a variety of career changes.
When they opened the shop in December of 2012, the struggles didn’t end.
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They had little money to advertise and were still trying to build a customer base.
So on April 3 of this year, they decided to try something different and began preparations to donate whatever little they could to local charities in hopes of getting their name into the community and helping their fellow man.
"We decided we're making a little bit of money, let's give back to the community,” he said.
Then the very next day came an unexpected boost in sales.
On April 4, a massive storm hit the Denton area, bringing three waves of up to softball sized hail.
"Within 2 weeks, we were just slam-packed with work,” said Weir.
The family had to immediately grow their workforce from four employees to about 14.
Repair workers in the shop estimate they’ve serviced well over 100 cars for hail damage and still sit on a two month log of cars ready to come in.
"It went from, 'hey we got some good work, got some good work,' to 'WHOAAAAAAA!'" said Weir.
However, the Weir’s didn’t forget their commitment to give back.
So with the boost in sales they began their pledge: giving $50 from each sale to a charity and the other $50 to a charity specifically helping veterans; of which Jason and his father-in-law both are.
The first charities to receive checks Thursday were Friends of the Family; a group that helps women and families in domestic violence situations, and Bring Everyone in the Zone; a group that helps veterans deal with things like post traumatic stress disorder or other traumas.
"Anything helps. Our services are all free to our clients, so this will go to our services and help a few more women and children get the services they need,” said Kaitlyn Howell from Friends of the Family.
"So many of our members are veterans and Jason definitely demonstrates that continued desire to give back,” said retired Army LTC Ginger Simonson from Bring Everyone in the Zone.
Weir said they will likely choose different charities for each donation to help as many different groups as they can.
“Even when the work slows down or speeds up, we will always give back in some form or another,” he said.
5W stands for the 5 Weirs; named for Jason, Brandi and their 3 kids.
Weir said they are already offering full benefits to their employees and are making plans to expand the shop further with aluminum repair and possibly more locations in the future.
