TORONTO, Ont. –A generous donation of 128 GM engines to Toronto high schools has been matched by an equally generous offer from APPS Transport.

GM donated the engines to the Toronto District School Board, for distribution to 19 high schools across Toronto. Problem was, getting the engines to those schools in downtown Toronto would require the services of a transport company, and those services could be costly.

That’s when APPS Transport stepped up and offered to deliver the engines free of charge. The engines were picked up at GM’s St. Catharines plant and the first of those powerplants reached their new home on May 4 at Central Technical Institute in Toronto.

Making the delivery was professional driver and Ontario Trucking Association Road Knight, Guy Broderick.

APPS president Rob McDonald was also on-hand for the handoff. But when he stepped to the mic, it was McDonald doing the thanking.

“I’d like to thank the Toronto District School Board and GM for including us in this project,” he said. “We’re proud to be a partner in the initiative and we look forward to completing the task with any new ones that come on-board.”

McDonald added “We believe that education is the pillar of society and the foundation of our future. Having relevant equipment to work on in the schools is key to making a better transition to the future for our students. We hope that our donation of some time and equipment really helps and that our contribution to this project helps make these students successful in the future.”

Students assembled at the ceremony were genuinely enthusiastic and could hardly wait to begin working on the new engines, a combination of V6s and V8s.

“The value of this donation is immense in the automotive teaching area,” said Tony Rende, automotive co-op teacher at Central Technical Institute.

“The engines that GM is donating are in pristine condition, essentially cutting edge technology. Students will leave our program with experience working on state-of-the-art engines which will help them in their career path.”

The transportation of the engines required two 53-foot trailers, engine hoists and forklifts.