Cincinnati auto shops team up to support breast cancer patients

CINCINNATI — As colder weather rolls in, many drivers are scheduling seasonal tune-ups from tire replacements to brake checks. But this October, a local initiative is turning a routine car repair into a way to make a difference.

The “Give the Girls a Brake” campaign brings together auto repair shops across the Cincinnati area to raise money for women battling breast cancer. Throughout the month, participating shops provide free brake pads with qualifying services and donate 10% of brake repair costs to the Karen Wellington Foundation.

For breast cancer survivor Amy Bishop, that mission hits close to home.

“I am a fitness instructor. I’m healthy, young, active, and had no previous issues with anything,” Bishop said. “This just came right out of the blue.”

Bishop was diagnosed with breast cancer last October after a routine mammogram revealed the disease in its early stages. Following surgery and radiation, she is now cancer-free.

“This happened to me a year ago, and I can’t believe it’s already been a year,” she said. “You can move through it too. You just have to grab somebody’s hand.”

Those helping hands now include local auto shop owners like Dale Donovan, who has participated in the campaign since it began.

“What we do is we offer brake jobs and give you the brake pads, then we donate 10% of that brake job to the Karen Wellington Foundation,” said Donovan, owner of Donovan’s Auto & Tire Center.

Over the last four years, the campaign has raised more than $125,000 for the Karen Wellington Foundation.  “Maybe it’s a balloon ride, maybe it’s just a spa,” Donovan said. “What we’re trying to do is put fun back in their lives because their lives consist of going to the doctor every single day.”

Bishop, a longtime customer of Ulmer’s Auto Care Center, said she’s grateful to see businesses driving awareness in such a meaningful way.

“It just gives you another avenue to say, ‘All right, somebody else has been in my shoes,’” Bishop said. “You just feel a lot less alone.”

Organizers expect to present a donation check to the Karen Wellington Foundation in early November.