Tampa auto repair shop wants to pump the brakes on hunger

TAMPA, Fla. – Customers at a Tampa auto repair shop are reaping the benefits of giving back to the community.

Ask Cielo, needs brake repairs on her car. Instead of paying her bill with money, she’s using food as payment.

Cielo is taking part in the “Brakes on Hunger” food drive at Ice Cold Air Auto Repair shop located at 501 E. Sligh Ave in Tampa. For every customer that brings in 24 non-perishable items, the repair shop will give them a free brake pad worth more than $200.

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“I’ve known Ashley and Adrien for years, and they do so much for the community,” Cielo said. “Whenever I need any of my auto services, I go right to them. Just so happened that they’re doing this great promotion, and I was like, perfect. So, I’m getting my brakes done while also giving back to the community.”

Ashley and Adrien Bulter are partners in the business. They say giving back to others is the right thing to do.

“We find that in-kind donations are the best way for us to give back to our community,” explained Adrien Butler. “It kind of makes it affordable for us and the community to do something together. So, it’s worth it, I think.”

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Ashley Butler vividly remembers all too well what it likes to struggle. She was born to a teenage mom and now she is giving back to the organization that once helped her family.

“This is just a way that we can give back. You know, I’ll never meet those people who donated to Metropolitan Ministries in the 90s that helped my family, but this is a way for me to be one of those people that are given to people in need right now,” she said.

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They’re on a mission to make a difference.

“We do, annual Toys for Tots. We also do a back-to-school fundraiser where we raise, supplies for schools that are underprivileged and students that are underprivileged,” Ashley Butler said.

For Cielo, it’s both a way to help others and herself.

“Times are tough and so that’s a great, you know, discount to receive it, but the biggest part is filling your heart, knowing that you’re donating to a great cause,” Cielo said.

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“I believe that when you get blessed in this lifetime, you’re supposed to be a blessing to other folks,” Ashley Butler shared. “That’s how my grandmother taught me.”