We have noticed quite a few new subscribers to this newsletter. Thank you! We send these about once a week and alternate between client stories (like today’s), organization updates, volunteer spotlights, spiritual encouragement, and relevant news.
Today we are celebrating our 174th client, Cassie. This single mom of a kindergarten-age daughter has made incredible progress in the last few years, moving from homelessness to having a stable home, a full-time job, and an improving credit score. She participates in Jay Meador’s excellent Financial Fitness program, and impressed him enough to nominate her for a vehicle. As best we can tell, Cassie was yet another victim of a vehicle scam. The car she had spent her savings on turned out to be a flood car; it had been filled with mud at some point! Cars like that are often cleaned, put back on the road, and sold as solid. But the water and mud always get into the cavities of the body and into the wiring and eventually corrode or short out the vehicle. They never last long. So when her scam car finally failed her, she was left in a desperate situation unable to reliably get to work. Fortunately, when a generous local family donated a comfortable and reliable Toyota Avalon, we knew we had just what she and her sweet daughter needed.
Here’s what our volunteer Amy said about Cassie after interviewing her as part of the application process: “Cassie is a model client for who and why OnRamp exists. She has overcome challenges that most would succumb to. She is choosing to be an example to her daughter by her drive and determination. She is a thoughtful individual who is really working hard to better her life and to provide her daughter with a stable and loving upbringing. She isn’t afraid to put in the hard work and has big goals for herself and her future. I have no doubt that she will meet and exceed all of her goals!”
Cassie (second from left) with the amazing team that made this possible, from left, Rami Cerone on our Vehicle Team, Amy Loggins on our Client Care Team, and our Communications Director, Cassidy Somervill.
It’s not hard to see why we feel honored to partner with clients like Cassie on their journey towards self-sufficiency! After receiving her car on Valentine’s Day, she drove straight to Target to buy flowers for her daughter so she could surprise her after school in their new car.
If you’d like to support the work we do, please consider donating or volunteering with OnRamp. We are currently looking for businesses or individuals to sponsor bays at our upcoming Drive with OnRamp event at 5pm March 23rd at BigShots. Sponsorships are $1,100 and include play for 6-8 plus free dinner, and most of that money goes straight to OnRamp to help more clients like Cassie. If you can help, please email Stephanie at StephanieM@OnRampTX.org
