Service for Your Service: Honoring Our Veterans

Here at Carvana, the moments we look forward to most are the ones where we give back to the communities we work and live in. We knew that for Veteran’s Day, we wanted to serve those who’ve signed a blank check and sacrificed so much to protect and help those around them. 

So, leveraging our previous partnerships with veteran-focused organizations like The American Legion and Soldier’s Best Friend, as well as our very own CarVets community, we worked with local Phoenix repair shop “We Fix It” to offer complimentary auto repair services to veterans. 

We transformed the shop into a Carvana-themed space where local veterans could kick back, relax, and get service for their service without worrying about a bill to pay after. To learn more about the outstanding veterans we helped out, watch the video:

What It Means to Sign a Blank Check

“A veteran is someone who, at one point in their life wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America,” for an amount up to and including their life.” – Unknown.

We asked members of our CarVets community what Veteran’s Day means to them, and what they’d want civilians to think about on Veteran’s Day. Here are some of their responses:

“I joined because I wanted to serve my country. I thought long and hard and asked myself, “Am I willing to die for my country?” Yes, I was, so I joined the Marines. Through blood, sweat, and tears, I joined and fought with my brothers. The honor, courage, and commitment filled me up every day. Today, seeing anyone who served in any branch instantly connects us. We are all brothers and sisters, and I’m so proud to be part of this big family.” – Vincenzo S., Customer Experience

“For me, my service started with continuing a tradition of family service to our country. My uncles (five of them) were WWII veterans; my dad and his youngest brother were Korean War Vets. There was never pressure to serve, but a simple understanding that freedom is not free, and I felt the need to offer my service to honor those who had gone before me. Veteran’s Day is honoring that willingness to step up and say, “I will go, so others don’t have to.” It’s hard for anyone that hasn’t had that experience to understand what it’s like. I would simply urge anyone who hasn’t offered that blank check to make every effort to keep this proud Republic alive and well by being an informed and involved citizen. Lastly, I would ask that everyone understands that there are still service members deployed in all areas of the world and to keep them and their families in their thoughts.” – Raymond O., Logistics

“I made the promise. I did my tours. I did my best, and I did it with pride. But I was never in any real danger. Had the coin flip landed differently, I could have been in the desert in a humvee with an antenna on it. Every Veteran’s Day is an opportunity to remember what I did and what I’m capable of, sure, but moreover, to remember what my brothers and sisters did that left scars they’ll always carry.” – Christopher T., Engineering

“What I would want civilians to consider and appreciate is, “freedom isn’t free.” Whether you are conscripted or volunteered, the cost of freedom was that person’s life for the time they spent serving their country to secure and maintain what was fought for and won over the years. That service has left service members, no matter the length of their service, with wear and tear that never leaves them for as long as they live. It changes them and how they see the world and how the world sees them. Because they can never unsee, unhear, and undo what has been done. That sacrifice of self is to be honored and recognized by all citizens of this country.” – LaSung W., Service Desk.

To all who have, or will, sign a blank check in service to our country – thank you. We look forward to continuing our service for your service in the years to come!