Clovis Auto Shop putting the brakes on breast cancer

Left to right: Samantha Hernandez, Jaime Fowler and Raul Cantu are spearheading Clovis Auto Shop’s “Brakes for Breasts” fundraiser during the month of October. DANIEL LEON/CLOVIS ROUNDUP

Clovis Auto Shop, located on Clovis Avenue just north of Old Town, is participating in the national “Brakes for Breasts” movement to fund breast cancer research.

As part of the campaign, the shop is offering free brake pads all month long. Customers just have to pay for the labor and any additional parts, and 10 percent of the bill from each job is donated to the Cleveland Clinic’s Breast Cancer Vaccine Fund.

“I got a call from a customer saying he didn’t need brakes, but he was emotional and thanking us for running this campaign,” said Raul Cantu, assistant service manager at Clovis Auto Shop. “It was close to his heart. It felt good to know there are people out there that are grateful for what we’re doing.”

Office administrator Jaime Fowler presented the idea to owner Rob Porcella four years ago, and the shop has been on board since.

“I had heard about it because I do a lot of the [social media] posting for Clovis Auto Shop,” Fowler said. “We were really engaged with Google Plus at that time so we got to engage with a lot of auto repair shops across the nation. I kept seeing ‘Brakes for Breast’ coming up on their posts and I was like, ‘What is that and how come I’ve never seen it?’ So I researched it and I brought it to the owner Rob and he said, ‘You know, this is a pretty big deal.’”

Cantu said Clovis Auto Shop installed 44 sets of brake pads during last year’ campaign.

The goal for this year? “To increase that number by at least 40 percent,” said Cantu.

The shop’s storefront and reception area currently display pink signage, balloons and other decorations to promote the cause, something Fowler hopes rubs off on customers.

“We want to transfer that [energy] on to our customers and let them know we’re excited about it,” she said. “They see us excited about it, we hope it’ll get them excited.”

To schedule a brake pad replacement, call Clovis Auto Shop at (559) 765-0749 or visit www.clovisautoshop.com.

A native of Woodlake, Daniel Leon is a recent graduate of Fresno State with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. Daniel served as Sports Editor at The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper, prior to joining the Roundup. Got a story idea? Email him at editor@clovisroundup.com