Neighbors Helping Neighbors vehicle program changes lives.
We’ll call her Alice because an abused mother and her children without relatives in our community deserve privacy.
They live in a government-subsidized apartment. But the family was isolated and dependent on others for rides for everyday necessities like groceries, medical appointments, clothes, or school events for the children - basic things that far too many of us take for granted.
Alice’s eyes light up when she describes her children and how her oldest faithfully helps her keep an eye on the younger ones even though they sometimes get on their older sibling’s nerves. The younger ones love art and use their extra energy to help with chores.
Having a car would be a game changer for this family and a huge step towards the life Alice dreams of for her children. So, she contacted Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN).
At about the same time, a volunteer at the Greensboro First United Methodist Church Clothes Closet saw Alice when she and her children were there. He said he was so moved by the fact that she had difficulties—and that she said “she wanted to work and be right by her children”—that he donated enough money to Neighbors Helping Neighbors to find her a car.
A NHN board member and NHN Vehicle Committee Chair, Dom Serra, found and purchased a used car. They helped Alice with the paperwork to get the license and register her new ride with the state.
“I’ve seen the hugs and heard the “I love you’s” in their family,” the board member said. “Mom has now made dental appointments and looks forward to beginning a job in the coming days thanks to this new mode of dependable transportation. She also adds that Alice never realized “there were people and organizations that could care so much and want nothing in return.”
The NHN vehicles program strives to help others like Alice who need reliable transportation to help lift themselves up.
“We have a backlog of almost ten people who need vehicles,” Dom said. “Donations of used cars, even those that need repairs, are desperately needed.” For more information on donating a vehicle, please email Dom at cars@nhnga.org.
