Autobell awards $150,000 in scholarships to 182 team members
The Charlotte-based operator's long-running scholarship program continues to fund higher education for hourly workers across four states.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
Autobell Car Wash is distributing $150,000 in academic scholarships to 182 team members for the 2026-27 school year, according to reporting from Car Wash Business Center. Recipients work at locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
The awards come through the Autobell Car Wash Scholarship Program, which the family-owned company has run since 2000. Over that span, Autobell says it has directed more than $2.6 million to over 2,400 team members pursuing higher education. This year's total matches the $150,000 the company awarded to 158 team members for the 2025-26 academic year.
How recipients are chosen
Autobell selects scholarship winners through a competitive review that weighs academic performance, extracurricular activity, community involvement, and leadership. Applicants submit letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, and community leaders, and write an original essay based on their experience working at the company.
Katie Sens, Autobell's vice president of human resources, tied the program to the company's identity, saying helping team members reach academic goals is a reflection of who the company is. She also noted that the job builds transferable skills in communication, teamwork, and time management, and that flexible scheduling is designed around students' lives.
Beyond Autobell's own awards, four team members received separate $2,500 scholarships from the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. Those recipients are Ethan Pazdzior, who works in Durham and will attend North Carolina State University; Peyton Mahaffe of Mooresville, headed to Mitchell Community College; Jacob Cowley of Durham, attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Caden Smith of Shelby, enrolling at Gaston College.
A retention play built into an entry-level workforce
Autobell has operated for 57 years since its 1969 founding by Charles Howard Sr., and it now runs 91 conveyorized locations across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The company frames the scholarship program as part of a broader investment in team member training and development alongside its community and environmental initiatives.
Why it matters for operators
Car wash labor tends to draw students and younger workers, and turnover in those roles is a persistent cost. Autobell's program is a case study in how a benefit aimed squarely at that demographic can double as a recruiting and retention tool. Scholarships tied to continued employment give hourly staff a concrete reason to stay through a school year, and requiring an essay about the job reinforces engagement.
Operators do not need Autobell's scale or a program running since 2000 to borrow the logic. Even a modest scholarship fund, tuition reimbursement, or a partnership with a local community college signals that entry-level work is a stepping stone rather than a dead end. That message matters when competing for the same student labor pool as retail and fast food.
The flexible scheduling Autobell highlights is worth noting on its own. For student employees, predictable time off around exams and class schedules can be as valuable as pay, and it costs far less than a formal scholarship program. Pairing scheduling flexibility with even small educational support may deliver outsized returns in loyalty and reduced hiring churn.
