People are sometimes shocked when they first find out what we do. “You give away cars for free?!” But when you meet the men and women we serve, such as Kirsten, our 145th client, you begin to realize that the better question is, “How can we NOT gift a car to a person like her!?”
Kirsten is one of the more than 1,200 young adults who age out of the foster care system every year in Texas without being adopted. Sadly, across America, only 3% of these kids will graduate with a bachelor’s degree, only half will obtain employment by age 24, and 1 in 4 will end up homeless within four years of leaving foster care. This is simply unacceptable, and is why a loving family launched Our Daughters House in Brenham. This nonprofit houses young women such as Kirsten who’ve aged out of foster care, providing not only shelter, but also coaching, support, and love to help each woman grow and succeed.
Kirsten with Kris Williams and Crissy Abbey of Our Daughters House
That path to success almost always requires a vehicle since mass transit is not an option. With rides from ODF volunteers, Kirsten got a great job at Bluebell and diligently saved $2000. But that’s not enough to afford a reliable vehicle. So ODH nominated her to OnRamp and we accepted her without reservations. How could we not when her advocate told us, “Kirsten is a daughter of Our Daughters House and currently works a full-time job as a robot operator for Bluebell. She is saving for a car as well as school in the spring, she plans to major in mechanical engineering. Kirsten has really impressed me with the amount of hours she works on top of volunteering, helping around the house, keeping up with her steady budget, and studying as well as passing the GED… She is kind, caring, and above all else driven to succeed.”
Operates robots at an ice-cream factory and hopes to become a Mechanical Engineer?!?!? If you know my backstory (M.E. in automotive engineering, TAMU class of ’98), you can imagine how much I enjoyed getting to partner with Kirsten on her journey. Yesterday we gifted her a Toyota Rav4 that we pray will serve her well for years to come.
And now the best part. Kirsten is a giver. She wants to help others, not just receive. So that $2000 she had saved for a car… yeah, she donated that in cash to OnRamp to get a car for the next person in line. How awesome is that?! And so yet again I ask you, “How could we NOT gift a car to a person like Kirsten?!”
Your generosity enables this partnership with people just like her. I’m writing this blog post while staring at a board of awaiting clients who are fully approved for vehicles, but we don’t have the funds required. I need two minivans for single parent homes and an SUV for a medically challenged client ASAP. Can you help us continue this essential ministry by donating just as Kirsten did to help these next clients in line?
Finally, in case you missed it, we just published an ebook on how to buy a used car and not get scammed. It’s built on all the data we’ve collected over the last 5 years buying and maintaining over 140 vehicles for our clients. We’ll tell you what used vehicles you should buy, and which you should avoid, as well as teach you how to navigate the used car market without falling prey to crooks and scammers. You can download it by clicking the image below. It’s offered for a suggested donation of $20… but just grab it for free if your funds are tight. We want to make sure you know how to protect yourself and your family when buying a used car.
