Help others: Drop off a good used car Saturday 



BY RONDA GREGORY The Dominion Post 





INFO: 

296-8445 or (866) GIVE CAR, or visit goodnewsmountaineergarage.com. 
   
   Dawn Wright is a single Morgantown mom who needed a car to support herself and her 16-year-old daughter. 
   Good News Mountaineer Garage gave her one Tuesday. Though the used yellow 1987 Jeep Wagoneer has racked up about 120,000 miles, it is in good working condition and will get her and her daughter where they need to go, Wright said. 
   “I’m amazed. I’m grateful. I’m happy,” she said. “It is truly appreciated, because I needed it to get back and forth to work.” 
   She works for Patton Building Services, in Morgantown. 
   Having a car also allows people to participate more fully in their children’s lives, such as attending school events and activities, said Millie Karlin, of Good News Garage. 
   The Good News Garage is a nonprofit agency that helps low-income people obtain used, roadworthy vehicles so they can get to jobs and conduct the basic business of life. 
   Wright is one of 45 people who have received vehicles from Good News Garage this year, Karlin said. Last year, the agency gave away 73 cars. 
   All of the cars in the program are donated. 
   People can help other families who need reliable transportation this weekend by bringing in their used vehicles for Good News Mountaineer Garage Car Dropoff Day, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, at the WVU Health and Safety Extension Office at 128 Tower Lane, in Westover. 
   Only on Drop-off Day, the agency will take any car, truck or van, because even junkers can be sold and the money used in the program. But, Karlin said, “We are not an alternative to a junk yard. We need cars that are in pretty good running condition that will meet the standard for an inspection sticker without needing major repairs.” 
   Karlin said the donor receives the maximum allowable federal income tax deduction and, when available, a West Virginia income tax credit. 
   Karlin said the agency does all the paperwork, so donating your car is a quick and easy 10-minute process. All a person has to bring, in addition to the car, are the keys and the title. 
   Though Saturday’s Drop-off Day is a special way to highlight the Garage’s efforts, Karlin said cars are accepted anytime. 
   “You basically give someone a 10-yearold car with 100,000 miles on it and they’re overjoyed, because you’ve given them that one piece that will enable them to be self-sufficient,” Karlin said. 
   Before Wright drove off in her “new” car to get to her job on time, she said, “I thank them, thank them, thank them -— I honestly prayed for a car. I hope that I can take the blessing I’ve gotten and pass it on to someone else.” 
   Good News Mountaineer Garage is funded in part by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.