The Huntsville Times
 

Car donation program gives families new lease on life

Family Services teams with Intergraph to give away Tauruses

11/15/02

By MEGAN WALDE
Times Staff Writer - meganw@htimes.com

To Latresa Rogers, the light-blue Ford Taurus reflecting Thursday morning's sun is more than a car - it's rolling independence.

It means no more missed job interviews, no more pleading with friends or family to take her to the store. It means no more walking her 4-year-old son Evan to day care many mornings in the cold.

After 1 years without a vehicle, the car Rogers got keys to Thursday morning is a chance to change her life.

"I called my case worker one day to get my shuttle ticket and she said, 'In two weeks, you'll be getting a car,' " Rogers said Thursday morning. "I couldn't believe it; God has really given me a blessing."

Rogers, 29, lives in Huntsville. She was just one of 21 people from Madison, Morgan, Jackson and Dekalb counties who got a car Thursday through the Family Services Center's Caring Cars donation program. Intergraph donated the fleet cars, mostly 10- to 12-year-old Tauruses, in a ceremony on the company grounds Thursday morning.

The Intergraph gift is the largest donation made to the program since it began last year.

Kiyomi Brandon has been without a vehicle since her mother's car was totaled in an accident eight months ago. The 23-year-old mother of two plans to finish her GED this fall and start classes at J.F. Drake State Technical College in the spring. A car of her own will make that much easier.

"I will cherish this car like it's another child," Brandon said through her tears Thursday morning.

Family Services gave away its first car last November under the banner of its Ways to Work family loan program, started in August 2001. The program makes low-interest loans available so applicants can buy a used car or repair a car they already own.

A $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation guarantees the loan program. The Alabama Department of Human Resources and money from the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program help pay administrative costs for Ways to Work.

But not everyone can qualify for the loan program, which is why the agency created the donated-car program in addition to Ways to Work. Family Services has provided 41 people with donated cars, including Intergraph's donation, since last year.

"If you don't have transportation in North Alabama, you're in real trouble," said Jack Ickes, vice president of Intergraph corporate services. "You can't go to work; you can't go to the grocery store. This program gives these families a chance."

When Intergraph decided to retire its fleet cars this past summer, Ickes looked at the options. The cars' wholesale values are low, but the cars have been well maintained by the company. When he heard about Family Services' car donation program, it felt like the right fit.

"And besides," he said, waving to one of the new Taurus owners honking her way out of the parking lot, "this is fun."

Applicants for the car-donation program have to already have a job or get one within 30 days of getting a car. They have to have a current license and pay for the insurance plus tags and a plate.

They also have to stay working for a year before the title is handed over in their names.

Rogers is a certified nursing assistant and the new car will let her make more appointments with potential employers. Brandon, who is looking for work in electronics or assembly while she heads to Drake in the spring, can sleep in a little later now that she won't have to rely on family for transportation.

"I can become more independent for me and my kids now," Brandon said.

Debby Traughber, CEO of Family Services, just hopes the Intergraph donation will encourage other companies and individuals to do the same.

The Family Services Center is a nonprofit, United Way agency that has provided mental health counseling and other services to North Alabama families since 1962. The center also provides financial literacy training and free tax preparation help to lower income families.

For more information on the car donation program, call 551-1610.  

Donated Cars
for
Job Transportation

© 2007 Family Services Center - Huntsville, AL