Car Stories
Diane is the mother of two teenage daughters. She worked nights at a downtown Charleston restaurant and had to walk home through some pretty rough neighborhoods. Her seventeen year old wanted to get a job but Diane was afraid to let her walk home after dark.
A social worker in Charleston gave the Good News Mountaineer Garage an Oldsmobile that ran well.
Diane and her daughter are working at the same business now and driving back and forth together in that Oldsmobile.
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Bill's wife died in a car accident and he was left to raise his nine year old daughter on his own. He was cutting wood and selling it to make money while he went to school to get a better job. The family car was totaled in the accident and Bill really needed a vehicle. A truck would be perfect.
Rob Laukoter, a Presbyterian minister from Putnam County, had a Ford XLT with just over 164,000 miles on it. Other than a crack in the windshield, the truck was in great shape. Reverend Laukoter checked out the GNMG website and decided that this was where he wanted his truck to go.
Bill couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the truck. It looked brand new. It would help him make a living plus he heated his own house with wood. He couldn't wait to pick up his little girl at school and show her their new car.
Reverend Laukoter felt so good about his experience donating a car that he asked the Teays Valley Ministerial Association to sponsor a car drop off day on December 13th for The Good News Mountaineer Garage.
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Before the car: Rob was a single father trying to juggle a toddler and a new job. His Community Access caseworker helped him get the job and was driving him back and forth to work every day, dropping off the baby at the daycare center. He needed his own vehicle if he was going to be able to keep that job and get off welfare.
After the car: Rob still has the job and the Subaru the Good News Mountaineer Garage gave him, but he no longer gets the welfare check. On his follow up survey, Rob commented "The car made my life so much easier. If I could thank everyone who helped me I would."
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Jean lives in a small town and worked at a fast food restaurant trying to support herself and her two children. She wanted to go to nursing school so she could get a good job that would get her off welfare but that would mean driving 30 miles each way.
A banker in Clarksburg gave the Good News Mountaineer Garage a Ford Tempo with less than 100,000 miles on it.
Now that she has a car, Jean has enrolled in school and looks forward to the day when she can give up her fast food job for a career in nursing.
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Kimberly wanted to be an auto mechanic so she enrolled in class at a vocational school. She was the only woman in the class and was doing great when her car broke down. It wasn't worth fixing and she was afraid she was going to have to quit school.
A South Charleston woman was shopping for a new car but wasn't happy with the amount she was offered for trade in on her Mazda. She liked the idea of helping someone and thought the tax benefits were a real incentive to giving.
Kimberly was thrilled to get the Mazda and says it's the "best car she ever had." She is doing the maintenance on it herself. Her thirteen year old daughter has a heart problem and the Mazda has made it possible for them to get to doctor appointments. In December, they made a trip to Wheeling to look at the Christmas lights. Kimberly is looking forward to getting a real job when she graduates but in the meantime, has volunteered to help out at our garage in Alum Creek.
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