Keith Fry couldn\u2019t stop smiling.<\/p>\n
An oversized, cardboard key grasped in his left hand, his grin was ear-to-ear as he reached out his right to shake hand after hand.<\/p>\n
He thanked, one-by-one, everyone involved in the life-changing moment he had just experienced. He told them how grateful he was, what a difference they had made.<\/p>\n
Then, still smiling, he took a moment to just stand back and stare.<\/p>\n
There in front of him was a black 2019 Honda Accord, glimmering like it did when it was brand new. And it was his.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful car,\u201d Fry said.<\/p>\n
But it was much more than simply a pretty vehicle. To Fry, the car represented opportunity, resilience and hope.<\/p>\n
The 57-year-old Reading resident has had some tough times recently. About a year-and-a-half ago he and his wife, Jessica, lost their home due to financial difficulties.<\/p>\n
The couple, along with their son, found themselves staying in an emergency shelter. It was a devastating situation, one that easily could have broken the family.<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t let it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe said, \u2018No, this is not going to put us down,\u2019\u201d Fry said.<\/p>\n
A veteran of the Navy, Fry reached out to Veterans Multi-Service Center, a nonprofit organization that assists veterans experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n
Through the organization, the family was able to find a new home. And Keith and Jessica were able to secure catering jobs with Cloud 9 Cafe.<\/p>\n
Despite moving in the right direction, there were still hurdles. Chief among them was the lack of a vehicle.<\/p>\n
Fry said he and his wife had to wake up two hours early to get to work, walking 2 miles to catch a bus. And getting their 15-year-old son to sports practices and other activities was difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cA teenager shouldn\u2019t have to deal with that like he did,\u201d Fry said.<\/p>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-ChristmasCar1504.jpg\")
Ryan Zipay of Calber Collision, left, and Jeremy Bender of Traveler\u2019s Insurance present a 2019 Honda Accord to Ketih and Jessica Fry and their son Jordan, 15, during a ceremony at Caliber Collision, 2526 Centre Ave., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
About five months ago, Fry got some good news. He was told by officials from Veterans Multi-Service Center that he had been nominated to receive a vehicle from Caliber Collision and Travelers Insurance through the National Auto Body Council\u2019s \u201cRecycled Rides\u201d program.<\/p>\n
The program takes damaged vehicles, rehabs them, then donates them to needy members of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Maybe I\u2019ll get picked,\u2019\u201d Fry said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not that lucky of a guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turns out, he is.<\/p>\n
Two months ago he was informed he had been chosen. It was thrilling news but left him waiting on pins and needles for the big day when he would receive it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were like, \u2018Come one, we want to see it,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, he finally did. During a brief ceremony at Caliber\u2019s Reading location on Centre Avenue, the crew that had worked on the car pulled a black cloth adorned with a large, green bow to unveil it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m to the moon, I just can hardly stand it,\u201d a beaming Fry said. \u201cI just feel tremendous relief to be able to do things without having to rely on other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those who helped make the moment happen said they were happy to be able to do so.<\/p>\n
Ryan Zipay, regional manager for Caliber, said Fry is well deserving of being honored and helped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope this gift of reliable transportation provides some peace of mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Zipay said Caliber is dedicated to the Recycled Rides program, having donated 600 cars since 2012. It\u2019s part of the company\u2019s belief in supporting the community, represented by a motto Zipay repeated time and time again: \u201cRestoring the rhythm of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travelers also has a long history of giving back to the community, said Jeremy Bender, the insurer\u2019s Mid-Atlantic appraisal director. And being able to do so by helping a veteran was an obvious choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spent time serving our country, and I\u2019m happy to be able to serve you back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bender said he hopes the vehicle provides a sense of freedom for the Fry family.<\/p>\n
Keith Fry said that\u2019s definitely the case. In fact, the family already has plans to exercise some of that freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to go to Washington, D.C., on New Years Day,\u201d he said. \u201cJust for fun, just to drive away somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-ChristmasCar1500.jpg\")
Ryan Zipay of Caliber Collision, left, congratulates Keith Fry after unveiling a 2019 Honda Accord during a presentation ceremony at Caliber Collision, 2526 Centre Ave., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)
\n![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-ChristmasCar1501.jpg\")
Ryan Zipay of Caliber Collision, left, congratulates Keith Fry after unveiling a 2019 Honda Accord during a presentation ceremony at Caliber Collision, 2526 Centre Ave., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keith Fry couldn\u2019t stop smiling. An oversized, cardboard key grasped in his left hand, his grin was ear-to-ear…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-64646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}