A New, Old Mission

It is no minor thing to modify an organization’s mission statement. This single sentence summary of our mandate shows up everywhere from our homepage to our IRS filing! But the time has come to refresh how we communicate the mission God has given to our organization. And while there are no major changes (we’re not jumping from cars to houses!), the changes we’ve made represent major growth in our understanding of this work, and we’re excited to share them with you.

The new mission statement seems, at first glance, very similar to the old. It reads,

“OnRamp shares God’s grace by gifting reliable vehicles to hard-working people in need to partner with them on the road to self-sufficiency.”

There are three crucial changes. First, we have moved God’s grace to the beginning to reflect our growing belief that this is what matters more than anything else. It was an appendage at the end in the old statement, not by choice but by inelegant word-smithing. It gave the impression that grace was an afterthought. But it is the most important thing we have to offer the world. Cars don’t last forever, but God’s grace does. Cars empower people, but grace transforms people. Grace is what helps our clients believe that they are loved by God more than they can imagine, and that belief can change everything. So we put that first.

Second, we realized that we were wrong in how we talked about our clients. In the previous statement, they were simply, “people in need.” That focuses only on what they lack. It completely misses what they bring to the table. They are HARD-WORKING men and women! They’ve already impressed their advocate enough to be nominated to our program. Then they impressed our interviewers and completed all their action steps before receiving a vehicle from us. They work hard to make it in this world, often with far fewer resources than most of us enjoy. Many work full-time jobs, or even multiple jobs at a time. Many raise young kids as a single parent. Some endure countless hours of dialysis or multiple miles of walking to get to a job or grocery store. They are, above all, hard-working people. So now we dignify our clients by leading with what they bring to the table. They are first “hard-working” and only then “in need.”

Finally, we added the phrase “to partner” towards the end. Previously, we said that we “help them on the road to self-sufficiency.” But “help” is too weak and too one-sided. It makes OnRamp the primary actor. But we are not. A car is only one small part of a family growing towards self-sufficiency. It’s an important part, but not nearly as important as the person’s own determination, growth, sacrifice, and, again, hard-work. We are merely partnering with them on their journey. We are a supporting actor at best; we are not the lead. And so our language now reflects that our clients are the heroes in their stories. We’re just there to partner with them along the way.

Words matter. We pray that the words we choose convey love and dignity to all of our clients and glory to our God.

Client 140 and an Urgent Need

Yesterday, we partnered with yet another hard-working single mom on her journey towards self-sufficiency. While she’s asked us to keep her name and picture private, we can tell you that she has three children, one of whom has special needs. She works in food services for a local school district and dreams of going back to school to become a dietitian. Her greatest goal is to help her disabled son become more self-sufficient so he can live his life to the fullest. She is a loving mom whose greatest strength is her patient faith that God will provide in HIs timing. She proved that faith by waiting seven long months between being nominated to OnRamp and finally receiving her vehicle, a Ford Edge SUV, yesterday (tip: 2010+ Fords with the 3.5L V6 are a good buy for reliability). Thank you to the generous donor who gifted OnRamp this vehicle, as well as Christian Brothers for helping us get it ready. Now this inspiring mom can continue to provide for her kids and pursue her goals.

But now to share the NEED. Doing this ministry is EXPENSIVE. There’s no way around that. For context, every time we say “yes” to a client, it costs us at least $10,000. We said ‘yes’ to twelve in the first 3 months of 2023. In addition to gifting vehicles to new clients, we’re also repairing vehicles for the ~40 clients we have in their first year of new car ownership. That’s a vital part of our ministry that allows us to stay engaged with them and help them make significant progress towards long term self-sufficiency. But in just the first three months of this year, we spent an average of $18,598 PER MONTH on repairs and tires for all these vehicles. Costs to purchase and repair, and even costs of parts and tires have skyrocketed the last two years.

So here is the NEED: donations and grants have been slow while costs have been high. As a result, our bank account has fallen to a point where we can no longer buy vehicles for waiting clients. We need to raise $25,000 ASAP to be able to start buying again, and need to bring in a consistent $69,000 per month to continue to say ‘yes’ to new clients at the rate we did in Q1 of this year. This is a powerful way to show Jesus’ love to local families in need. If you can help, please reach out to us or check out our “Give” page. Monthly donations are especially helpful for planning purposes and we are able to accept gifts via check, credit card, PayPal, or stock transfer.

How to Train Your Teenage Driver

Guest post by Matt Morton, pastor at Grace Bible Church and father of 3 teenagers.

Unlike when I was 15 and took drivers ed through my high school, Texas now allows parents to serve as their kids’ primary driving instructors. If you’re one of those parents teaching your kids to drive, may God bless you and keep you! I’m right there with you. We taught our now-18-year-old daughter to drive, and we’re currently going through it again with our 15-year-old.

While it is rewarding to help your kid take this step toward independence, let’s face facts: It’s deeply frightening to sit in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle with a completely inexperienced and overly emotional 15-year-old behind the wheel. It’s anybody’s guess who will cry first, you or the child. 

Unfortunately, the data also shows that most of us parents aren’t doing as good a job as the professional instructors at helping our kids become safe and confident drivers. A study from Texas A&M showed that parent-taught drivers are nearly 3 times as likely to get in a fatal crash than those taught by the professionals (https://tti.tamu.edu/news/parent-taught-drivers-at-greater-risk-for-crashesinjuries/).

Most of those severe accidents happen within the first three months after new drivers get their licenses, while they’re still adjusting to the freedom and responsibility of driving on their own without a parent in the car (https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/teen-crash-risk-highest-during-first-three-months-after-getting-drivers-license)

What that suggests is that we parents aren’t preparing our kids for the challenging task of making split-second, life-and-death decisions in high-speed, high-traffic environments.

I suspect there are a couple of reasons for this:

First, we’re afraid to let them drive in truly dangerous situations while we are in the car. As a result, we tend to avoid letting them drive on the highway during rush hour, for example. Or we never let them practice making an unprotected left turn onto a 4-lane road in busy traffic conditions. As a result, the first time they experience those conditions is after they get their license, when there’s no parent in the car to coach them.

Second, we tend to focus more on the aspects of driving that we found most challenging when it came to passing our driving tests. For example, we spend a lot of time teaching kids parallel parking. But the reality is that people don’t die parallel parking. They might scuff a bumper. On the other hand, if they miss the timing while trying to turn left onto a 4-lane road, the consequences could be catastrophic. And we often spend little to no time coaching them through those harrowing and dangerous moments on the road.

So for those of us teaching our own kids to drive, how can we expose them to more difficult driving environments before they get their licenses, without putting them in situations they aren’t prepared for? Let me offer some suggestions:  

1.     Give them LOTS of driving time. There is no substitute for practice. I know it can take longer to get where you’re going if the teenager is driving. And it’s more stressful. But the more they drive, the more competent and confident they will be. The State of Texas requires at least 30 hours of practice, in addition to 14 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction. In my opinion, aim for at least 50 hours of practice, roughly an hour each week.

2.     Start with safe and easy situations and slowly work toward more challenging ones. With both of our daughters, we started out in an empty parking lot. This is exactly what the professional instructors do. We made sure that they knew how to do basic tasks like start the car, adjust the seat and mirrors, use the blinkers, and turn left and right. We practiced pulling into parking spaces and backing out. We spent about 3-4 hours in parking lots and then we graduated to quiet residential streets. On a recent Saturday, for example, I took our 15-year-old daughter driving in a nearby neighborhood where the traffic is thin and pedestrians are few. We simply drove around and around through the neighborhood for an hour. I made sure she understood how to approach and to handle stop signs, when to signal for a turn, how to maneuver around parked cars, and so on. Once she was confident in that environment, we moved to busier streets. Only recently has she begun to learn how to merge on and off of the highway, after about 10-12 hours of driving time under her belt.

3.     Think of the most difficult driving situations you encounter around town, and make sure to let your kid try those a few times before they strike off on their own. Yes, you don’t want to move too fast (see above). Wait until they’re truly ready. But don’t avoid tough situations out of fear. Is there a spot where a lot of major accidents happen? Give your kid a few chances to navigate it while you’re in the car to coach them through it. It is scary, and you need nerves of steel. But again, you want them to try it while you’re with them to provide instruction.

4.     As they become more confident and skilled, resist the urge to coach them constantly. They need to learn how to make decisions without us in the car. Sometimes that means we have to keep our mouths shut if they’re approaching a stop sign slightly too fast, or if they are clearly going to end up crooked in a parking space. As long as their mistakes aren’t going to result in a crash, give them some freedom to make small errors. With both of our daughters, I reached a point in their training where I had to resist the urge to tell them exactly when to hit the gas after stopping at an intersection. They had to learn how to gauge the distance and speed of oncoming traffic without my assistance.

5.     Forbid them to have their phone nearby while they’re driving. I take the phone away every time our daughter gets behind the wheel to practice. I want her to learn that she shouldn’t ever be looking at a screen while driving. Roughly a quarter of all accidents on the road are a result of distracted driving. When our oldest daughter turned 16, we made it clear that she was expected to put her phone in the glove compartment while she was driving. (By the way, that’s not bad advice for anybody; I’m astounded by the number of drivers I see staring at their phones while going 75 miles per hour on a busy highway).

6.     Last but not least, keep your cool if (when) they make a mistake. If you scream or freak out, they will lose confidence and be even more nervous and jittery the next time they get behind the wheel. Help them learn from their mistakes and near-misses, and then get them right back on the road. Even after they get their license, they will make mistakes that cost you time and money. It’s a virtual guarantee that your teenager will eventually get into a fender bender. That’s exactly why their insurance premiums are so high. One of our kids backed my car into one of our other cars. When I was a teenager, I ran my dad’s car under the back of a semi-truck. It happens. If a dinged bumper or a broken headlight is the worst that happens, count yourself blessed.

The goal of all driver training is to help teens become safe, proficient, and confident drivers. Hopefully the tips above will help you with that if you are a parent instructor. It is a great joy to know that your child has the freedom and ability to get where they need to go, and the confidence and proficiency to do so safely.

Client 138: You are Loved

If we could give only one thing to our clients besides a reliable car, it would be the belief that they are infinitely loved, not just by us, but far more importantly by their Father in Heaven. I have become convinced over 17 years of pastoral ministry and 5 years of leading OnRamp that the single most powerful belief to which we can cling is that our Creator genuinely loves us, not just as a group, but as individuals. He loves YOU. He favors YOU. He likes YOU. Not a little, but more than you can imagine. In a world full of pain and disappointment, this one truth changes everything.

Tasha (left) with her wonderful advocate JoAnn (middle).

We can see this in the life of our 138th client, a local single mom named Tasha. She used to be an addict, but has completely turned her life around through a faith-based treatment program that grounded her in the faithful love of God. She is now able to work, attend church and Bible study, care for her kids and grandkids, and even volunteer with her advocate agency, The Nest. They are the local addiction recovery ministry to whom OnRamp donated a Tahoe a year ago. As their director, JoAnn, proves, the love of God can transform a former addict into someone who saves addicts! JoAnn helped Tasha recover from addiction and, when she saw how lack of a vehicle hamstrung Tasha’s employment and volunteer opportunities, brought her to us. We are so grateful for the opportunity to bless Tasha with a great car of her own!

The board and staff of OnRamp believe so deeply in the transformative power of God’s love that we recently created this short video for all of our clients to watch, and hope it will be a blessing to you, too!

One quick reminder: we are still collecting items for our upcoming silent auction fund raiser next month. Ideas that come to mind are gift certificates to fun restaurants, places and experiences, athletic-signed paraphernalia, fun household items, jewelry type stuff, credits/certificates for services, AirBNB stays, etc. Please reach out to me at blakej@onramptx.org if your business or family would be interested in donating to this cause to help us serve many more families in need of transportation in our community!

Create a Legacy

Our ability to share God’s grace through the gift of reliable transportation largely depends on the funds in our bank account. The love of God we share is free to all; but cars are not. Every time we say “yes” to a new, hard-working client, it costs OnRamp at least $10,000 to purchase, repair, and maintain their vehicle for the upcoming year. Therefore, we are constantly in need of additional funds to partner with more local families on their road to long-term self-sufficiency.

To this end, we wanted to share a few ideas that may be of interest to some of you as you consider how to use your resources to build a legacy of support for this ministry. If any of these ideas interest you, please contact our Operations Director, Stephanie Mason, at stephaniem@onramptx.org.

First, did you know that you can gift stock or mutual funds directly to OnRamp?  This is a great way to help us afford vehicles for upcoming clients.

Second, if you are 73 years of age or older and receive mandatory distributions from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) which you do not need, you can donate a portion of these required minimum distributions (RMD) directly to OnRamp. Charitable gifts made directly from your IRA to a qualified charity will count towards your RMD for the year and will not count as income in regards to taxes. We recommend that you consult with your personal legal, tax and/or financial advisors before funding your gift.

Third, you can create an endowment for OnRamp so that your giving continues indefinitely. As an example, if you currently donate $1,000 per year to OnRamp, you can make provisions in your estate plans to leave a gift of $25,000 to OnRamp in an interest bearing account as an endowment. At a 4% annual distribution, that equals $1,000 of support to OnRamp every year! The endowment will continue to grow and bless this ministry in perpetuity. This endowment from your estate plans can be in the form of a bequest under a will or could be a beneficiary designation of a retirement account or life insurance policy. You should be sure to consult with your tax and legal advisors to give you guidance unique to your personal circumstances.

Fourth, if you would rather leave a simple one-time gift from your estate to OnRamp, here is sample language that you are welcome to share with your attorney or estate planner:

"After taking care of all expenses, debts and other provisions, I give, devise and bequeath _____ percent of the rest and residue [or $______] to OnRamp, Inc., a Texas-based charitable organization, Tax ID# 81-5240446, P.O. Box 9897, College Station, TX 77842. This gift shall be unrestricted as to its use, unless directed by a separate gift agreement."

Again, if any of these ideas interest you, please contact Stephanie Mason at stephaniem@onramptx.org.

Celebrating our Vehicle Team

Whenever we say “Yes” to a new client, here are just a few of the steps our dedicated volunteer Vehicle Team must complete:

• Assess the client’s vehicle needs, taking into account the number of adults and children in the car, car seats, roads traveled, and annual mileage.

• Scour online advertisements throughout both Texas and Colorado (a no-salt state, so we love buying from here!) to find a suitable vehicle, sorting through dozens of scams and lemons to find a few good candidates.

• Research VIN history and personally inspect each suitable candidate - two or three vehicles per client on average to find a good one.

• Complete paperwork and arrange shipping if not a Brazos Valley car.

• Arrange with Christian Brothers Automotive to do a full post-purchase inspection and state inspection, and then complete all repairs and overdue maintenance (avg of $1-2000 per vehicle).

• Transport repaired car to Discount Tire for new tires (most used cars need tires).

• Transport to George’s glass if windshield broken (very common on used cars).

• Clean and detail the vehicle inside and out.

• Perform a final check and test drive.

• Deliver the vehicle to the client at the tax office.

• Make sure all receipts and paperwork are properly accounted for.

That is a LOT for volunteers to do… and yet they do it for dozens of clients per year. And at the top of our list is our first car-guy to volunteer, who has been faithfully serving OnRamp for the last four years… Rami Cerone! We are so grateful for Rami’s hard work, dedication, and skill that we awarded him this plaque earlier this year. Rami has his hands in all aspects of the vehicle team, coordinating purchases, donations, and leading the sale process when we need to sell a vehicle that’s not a good fit for an OnRamp client. Through his sales expertise, he has made tens of thousands of dollars for OnRamp that we’ve put back in to buying Corollas and Camrys by the boatload. We are so thankful to him!

We also want to thank his sweet wife Erin and daughter Rossi who frequently help him transport, clean, and deliver vehicles for our clients. They are a family that serves together. Thank you, Cerone’s!

If you’d like to thank Rami in person, you can catch him almost any time his downtown Bryan restaurant, Caffé Capri, is open. Let him know your appreciation for his service to the clients of OnRamp.

Also, we want to give a huge thanks to Joe Dewolf who Rami recruited to our team. Joe is currently our primary used car buyer and single-candidly gets all of the vehicles for us that we purchase out of Colorado. We could not have grown to this level without Joe.

And finally, and as always, we want to give a huge thanks to Jeremy Smith, Darrel Fikes, and everyone at Christian Brothers Automotive who makes this whole system work! We are grateful to partner with you guys.

Four Single Moms Gifted Toyotas

"Motherhood is the ultimate call to sacrifice.” Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu

Life demands much of single mothers. As the sole parents and breadwinners, these moms shoulder heavy burdens that would stagger many of us. And yet they typically do so with far less resources than the average family.

Look at these sobering statistics from our community. The average median income for all residents of Brazos county grew from $35,407 in 2010 to $49,362 in 2021, which is a 15% increase adjusted for inflation. In contrast, the average median income for single moms in our county only grew from $21,838 in 2010 to $24,962 in 2021, which is actually a 10% DECREASE adjusted for inflation. So not only did they start with far less in 2010, but their average wages have actually decreased in purchasing power over the last eleven years. Their challenges are growing as their income shrinks! Even if these women work doggedly, many still need assistance to thrive, as do their kids.

This is where OnRamp comes in. Over the past ten days, we have been blessed to give reliable cars to four such single moms in our community. We’re protecting their privacy, but here’s a few details we can share with their permission.

Client 134 is a single mom who works two jobs and cares for an adult son suffering from a debilitating illness. His treatments require monthly trips to Temple, Waco, and Houston. She has been a faithful participant in the TAMU Reach Project for the last few years and has availed herself of all the help they offer.

Client 135 is a single mom of a child with special needs. They live in the country far from public transportation or walkable streets. When her previous vehicle broke down, her employment and access to essential services were threatened.

Client 136 is a single mother of 2 children who also takes care of a friend’s 4 children and works overnight in the medical field. She’s hardworking and determined to provide for her kids and improve her trajectory.

Client 137 is a single mom of three who works for our local school district. Her previous vehicle was so unreliable it would simply shut down in the middle of the street, endangering her and her kids. When her cousin, with whom she was very close, died recently, she was unable to attend the funeral because she lacked transportation.

What unites these four women, other than being hard working single moms, is that after paying bills, rent, groceries, and medical bills, there is simply no money left to afford a reliable car, especially in today’s inflated market. These moms need a hand-up to continue providing for their kids!

OnRamp gives thanks today for the privilege of partnering with these four hard-working women in their journey towards generational self-sufficiency. With the help of our generous donors, we were able to donate three Corollas and one Camry to this great group of moms and their children. If you’d like to help us continue serving single moms in the Brazos Valley, please consider donating funds or vehicles to our ministry by visiting www.onramptx.org/give.

International Women's Day: Celebration and Prayer

Today, March 8th, marks International Women’s Day, and OnRamp has incredible women to celebrate! The vast majority of our staff, volunteers, advocates, and clients are women, and all of them have accomplished things that deserve recognition. But there are two that we want to spotlight today.

Jill Butler and her husband David, with her OnRamp plaque for faithful service.

First, we recognize our faithful Client Care Committee volunteer Jill Butler! Jill has served OnRamp’s clients for the last two years. She focuses on relationship building and ongoing care, ensuring that our clients feel loved and valued. When she’s not volunteering with OnRamp, Jill is pursuing her LPC professional counseling license and raising her two children with her husband, David. We are so grateful for Jill’s selfless love to our OnRamp family that we recently awarded her this plaque in recognition of her service.

Second, we want to recognize our fearless leader, Catherine Cole, who has served as a Board Member and now Board Chair. Dr Cole’s area of research is actually on the value of women in leadership roles. As her paper, “Women in International Public Leadership” (here) concluded, “as the number of women increased within governments, levels of perceived corruption decreased, national investment in healthcare increased, and foreign direct investment increased.” Bringing women to the table is not only the moral thing to do, it improves organizational performance, both public and private. Having women speak into OnRamp’s leadership decisions, especially when over half of our constituency are female, is vital to making the best decisions. We are so grateful for Catherine’s wisdom!

Catherine handing over keys to a Honda Odyssey to the leaders of Our Daughters’ House in Brenham, a charity that supports young women in need.

Sadly, there are many governments and cultures where women are excluded from leadership and service. Today, we grieve over the loss of freedom women are experiencing in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s resurgent rule. So much progress that was made in women’s education, health, and empowerment has been stripped away. OnRamp has been privileged to serve a half dozen Afghan refugees over the last two years. These are resilient, hard-working, hopeful people. They deserve so much more. So on this International Women’s Day, please join us in praying for freedom and justice for women in Afghanistan and anywhere else in the world where they are oppressed or sidelined.

What Car Would Jesus Drive?

I may actually be one of the few people on earth qualified to answer this absolutely pointless question. Time to put my Automotive Engineering undergrad and Masters of Theology to work! Assuming the Son of God walked the earth today and decided he didn’t feel like walking anymore, what vehicle would he buy based on the characteristics most people would ascribe to this man?

First off, not a Honda Accord despite what the popular meme might claim! I owned an Accord for three years. It was a great transportation appliance, basically a Maytag on wheels. But it was not nearly special enough for a guy like Jesus. We need something a bit less common for him.

He was a carpenter before the Savior-of-the-world thing.

The Bible tells us Jesus’ father was a carpenter. In a world where sons followed fathers professionally, that means Jesus needs a vehicle that can haul stuff. Goodbye Yaris, Smart Car, and Lotus Elise. You’re just not going to fit our woodworking needs.

Comically tiny trunk in otherwise brilliant Lotus Elise. Definitely not fitting 2x4’s and carpenter’s tools in there.

He was a genuinely good guy.

1938: Adolf Hitler laying the foundation stone of the first Volkswagen factory… right in front of Ferdinand Porsche. The Jewish Messiah’s probably going to avoid their showrooms.

I’ve yet to meet someone who would argue with Jesus’ goodness. His divinity, resurrection, miracles… that’s debated. But not that he was a genuinely good person. “Love your enemies.” “Turn the other cheek.” “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.” He followed his own advice so well that later scripture calls him “holy, innocent, undefiled” (Hebrews 7:26). How does that influence car buying? Simply put, I can’t imagine Jesus choosing to buy a brand built by Nazis. Goodbye Volkswagen. You were founded by Adolf Hitler, who personally commissioned your ubiquitous “People’s Car,” the Beetle. And speaking of the Beetle, Hitler had Ferdinand Porsche design it. Yes, that Porsche. So, goodbye to my favorite brand as well. Now let’s be clear. I’d happily drive a VW hot hatch and almost anything Porsche has ever built. But I’m not Jesus. He took squeaky clean to a whole new level. I just can’t see him buying from a company whose founders posed for pics with the Fuhrer.

He was humble before it was cool.

Six centuries before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah prophesied of Him, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). Towards the end of His life He told His followers, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). In other words, the Son of God did not take on human flesh to drive a Bugatti! Time to cross every prestige brand and flashy ride from our list. Aston, McLaren, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Jaguar… goodbye.

Gold-wrapped Bugatti Veyron – the antithesis of what Jesus would drive.

He was exciting to be around.

We’re told that thousands of men, women, and children sat for days in the hot sun to listen to Jesus teach and to watch him work miracles. And they did that right next to the Sea of Galilee, where they could have swum, walked the beach, or done whatever else passed for “fun” in the first Century. That tells me Jesus was probably not a Prius man. This guy literally turned the world upside down and launched a revolution that toppled an empire. In my opinion, there would be no boring cars in Jesus’ garage.

So what we need is something practical, Nazi-free, exciting to drive, and yet without an ounce of glitz. Ah… Jesus drove a sleeper! Of course, he did. ‘Power without Prestige’ would have been the plaque hanging on the wall of his garage. But what kind of sleeper for the king of kings?

Here’s my Top 3 Picks for Jesus’ Ride… not that He needs my advice.

1. 2003 Volvo V70R

I bet Jesus would have loved a fast wagon like this one. All-wheel drive to negotiate dusty Judean backroads. Fits five adults comfortably. 73 cubic feet of carpentry cargo. 296 horsepower to clip 60 in under six seconds with the six-speed manual (there’s no way the greatest man who ever lived would drive an automatic, none; of this I am certain). Brembo brakes and Ohlins dampers to apex every corner. And it’s a Volvo. Of course, the savior of the world is going to drive the safest car brand in the world.

2. 1958 Ford F-150

This classic farm truck is not a particularly exciting vehicle to drive. But it is humble, simple, rugged, and you can repair it on the side of the road. The disciples would have to ride in the bed, but it would still beat walking the desert roads of Judea. I don’t know why, but of all the available farm trucks out there, I picture the Son of God piloting this 1958 Ford F-100. It’s just so honest. And maybe He’d swap in a 5-liter Coyote to make it a bit more interesting. That’s what I’d do.

3. Toyota Sienna “Overlander”

For reliability, fuel efficiency, and number of passengers, it’s hard to beat a Toyota Sienna. Yes, they are the height of uncool, but to most of his contemporaries, so was Jesus. Plus, they have those miraculous sliding doors that open at the press of a button when you’re carrying twelve baskets of miracle left-overs. But how will a minivan survive the Judean wilderness? “Overland” it! Take an AWD version, add chassis stiffeners, upgrade and lift the suspension, bolt on off-road wheels and tires and you’ve got a go-anywhere minivan that can haul lumber AND disciples! This one even has a pop-up tent on top since the Son of Man had “has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20). If Jesus was minivan-averse, He could get even better performance without sacrificing too much room with a classic Toyota 4-Runner or Land Cruiser.

Thanks for reading. As always, comments, likes, and contrary opinions are welcome and appreciated. But please don’t flame me about the VW and Porsche comments. It’s all meant in jest as I happen to own an old Porsche as my project car! This post is just for fun!

Client 133: Multiplying our Houston Impact

Every year in Texas, more than 1,200 young adults age out of the foster care system without being adopted. Sadly, 1 in 4 of America’s foster youth are homeless within four years of leaving foster care. Less than 3% will graduate with a bachelor’s degree, and only half will obtain employment by age 24 (data from the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare). These are grim statistics. But there is HOPE!

Our most recent OnRamp client is not an individual or family, but an entire charity called Hope’s Path in Spring, Texas. Hope’s Path was started in 2016 after a group of church, business, and community leaders saw the needs of ‘aged out’ foster youth, especially young men. They founded this residential home to provide a place of healing within a Christ-centered community, where young men are supported, equipped, and empowered to lead successful, independent lives. In a safe and encouraging environment and with the help of a team of mentors, they learn their individual worth and develop critical life skills to become healthy, successful adults.

Towards this end, Hope’s Path helps each young man secure employment in the north Houston area. However, these men can’t yet afford vehicles of their own. So Hope’s Path leaders must drive the men to and from work every day, covering hundreds of miles a week. They desperately needed a reliable, large vehicle, but couldn’t afford one. So they reached out to OnRamp.

We are so grateful to have wonderful financial partners in Houston and in the Brazos Valley who, together, helped us purchase this low mileage Honda Odyssey. It should last years, even with the extensive mileage requirements. This one vehicle will, Lord willing, serve dozens of young men transitioning from foster care into full adult independence. Thank you for giving generously to OnRamp so we can give generously to these deserving young men! God is multiplying your impact!

Pictured above are Hope’s Path Executive Director, Brandon Anderchuk, and Program Director, Ted Macvaugh. You guys are doing great work in Houston and we are honored to partner with you! Pictured below are Brent Hairston and Chip Jennings who prepared the vehicle for donation. Huge thanks to George’s Glass for a free replacement windshield and Christian Brothers Automotive for discount repair services on the van.

Clients 131 & 132: Privacy and Light

Let’s talk about privacy. OnRamp was blessed to give away two nearly identical silver Toyota Corollas in the last two days… but we can’t show you pictures of the clients or share their names or stories. Like many of our clients, they have asked for privacy. Through painful mistakes in our early years and wise counsel from more experienced partners, we learned that protecting the privacy of clients is not only essential to a charity’s mission, it’s also how we honor the dignity of our clients, all of whom are made in the image of God. They are not projects to fix, nor are they defined by their lack of a car. They are inspiring men and women who have labored hard to overcome challenges that would have kneecapped me. Unless a client gives us explicit permission to share their story, name, and/or picture, we keep everything private. So it is for our 131st and 132nd clients. All I can say is that I promise you, they are both very inspiring people nominated by excellent advocates. For those whose donations made these Corolla purchases possible, your money was well spent!!

Since I can’t share stories, let me share a verse with you instead that has struck me in new ways this week. In Matthew 5, He says, “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (NASB). Here’s what I seemed to have missed for a long time: all of the underlined words are PLURAL, not SINGULAR. See, Greek is typically more exact than English. The second person “you” in English could be either singular or plural. Not so in Greek. You know immediately whether Jesus is speaking to each person as an individual (singular 2nd person) or the group as a whole (plural 2nd person). So, to borrow from Texas vernacular, Jesus is actually saying, “Y’all are the light of the world… Let y’all’s light shine before men in such a way that they may see y’all’s good works, and glorify y’all’s Father who is in heaven.”

While the grammar is interesting, the implication is profound! I always thought my goal in this world was to be a singular light for Jesus - a candle shining in the dark. No, actually my goal is to unite with other followers of Jesus doing good deeds so that together we all are one glorious light for Jesus. It is when I gather with my amazing OnRamp staff, board, volunteers, and donors to serve families in need that WE, not ME, are the light of the world Jesus intended.

So I challenge you to think “WE” not “ME” this week. Where are you linking arms with other followers of Jesus to sacrificially serve the poor, vulnerable, or hurting as a glorious light that the world cannot help but notice. If you don’t have an answer to that, reach out to me and I’ll help you find a ministry or charity that fits your gifting and passion where you can lock arms with other believers and shine!

Client 130: A Hand Up for Dean and Dawn

On a cold and rainy morning last week, we had the privilege of partnering with Aldersgate Church to bless our 130th clients, Dean and Dawn. What a sweet couple! Dean works full-time between holding down a job and caring for Dawn. Both suffer from significant health issues. Unfortunately, they had to navigate these challenges without transportation. When they needed groceries, they would walk to Walmart, which meant having to cross a major highway. Dean needed some way to get to work, so he bought a scooter. But Dawn cannot ride it, meaning he can’t get her to doctors’ appointments or the store. And worse, Dean has already been hit twice while riding the scooter! They are doing everything they can to be self-sufficient, but just needed a hand-up with transportation.

Dean and Dawn (left and middle), with their loving advocate, Debbie (right)

So in love, Debbie Champlin from Aldersgate nominated them to us, and we gifted this Toyota Rav4 in red, Dawn’s favorite color! The vehicle has plenty of room for Dawn’s wheelchair and service dog. Now Dean can get to work and can drive Dawn to appointments, church, and the store whenever they need. We are so grateful to be part of their continuing story!

Huge thanks to their advocate, Aldersgate, our client-care leads on this case, Cassidy and Tiffany, Joe Dewolf for finding the Rav4, Christian Brothers for repairing it, and Chip Jennings for getting it cleaned and ready. It takes a team!

Pictures and story shared with client permission.

Advice: How to Choose the Safest Vehicle for Your Family

As I drove to work on this cold, wet day, I was reminded how important safety is when we choose a vehicle for ourselves, our loved ones, and especially our newly-licensed teenagers. Heated seats, touch screens, horsepower, and looks matter little when another driver fails to stop at a redlight and T-bones you. We want vehicles that will protect us and our families when, not if, an accident happens.

So, what vehicle should you buy to provide the greatest safety for those you love?

Let’s start with three guiding principles.

Principle 1: No vehicle safety feature will ever be as important as a fully engaged driver. I want to spell that out on the side of Kyle Field in 40-foot-tall letters. A driver who is paying complete attention to the task of driving will be more likely to get home safely than one who is not, even if the former is driving a 1970’s Ford Pinto and the latter a state-of-the-art Tesla. There is no technology yet that can fully replace the human driver. And this is where all of those wonderfully advanced safety features actually have a NEGATIVE consequence: they can deceive us into believing our attention is no longer required. That’s a recipe for tragedy. New technologies like automated braking and lane departure warnings are wonderful… so long as we do not use these features to excuse distracted driving. So here’s a simple rule of thumb. No matter what vehicle you buy, the safety of you and your passengers will be primarily determined by your full engagement in the task of driving. Put the cell phone away. No texting while driving. Ever. And be very careful even talking on a phone while driving as it can be just as distracting.

Very effective rear crumple zone on this Volvo S90. Note how the trunk absorbed almost all of the impact, leaving the passenger compartment fully intact. Longer vehicles usually provide you larger crumple zones.

Principle 2: mass usually wins in a collision. You could have the safest 2-door hatchback ever made, but in a collision with a Suburban, you will almost certainly lose. It’s a simple matter of physics. Imagine crashing a ping-pong ball into a golf ball. The former will experience a massive change in velocity; the latter barely any. It’s that massive change in velocity that kills you (imagine your brain inside that ping-pong ball!). Now that does not mean we should all drive tanks. Big, heavy SUV’s and trucks carry their own safety risks, most notably increased propensity to roll over. Therefore, I advise a middle-ground. The safest vehicles tend to be mid-size or full-size sedans and SUV’s. They have sufficient mass and also offer larger crumple zones than their smaller siblings. Crumple zones are portions of the vehicle designed to “crunch” under impact so that energy can be absorbed before it makes it into the cabin. Longer hoods and trunks, larger doors, and greater space between doors and occupants means there is more room for energy absorption to occur before you get smacked. So, leave the little sports cars for more experienced drivers (me, please!), and get something larger if you’re a new driver or have little kids with you.

Principle 3: newer is better. Safety features follow a progression. First, luxury brands pioneer a new technology like airbags, antilock brakes, or blind spot monitors. But with time, costs decrease and eventually those same features are found in every car from a Ferrari to a Ford. Therefore, the newer the car, the more safety features it is likely to possess. If you have a choice between a low-mileage ten-year-old vehicle or a high-mileage four-year-old vehicle, the safer bet will probably be the newer vehicle, all other things being equal. For convincing proof, watch this video of a 1959 Chevy Bel Air (a massively heavy bruiser) disintegrating when hit by a 2009 Chevy Malibu. Newer is definitely safer if it’s more than ten years difference.

With these principles in mind, how do you select the safest vehicle? RESEARCH! Look up IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) ratings on all the vehicles you are considering. These industry-wide ratings are based on extensive crash-test data, and can be found at www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings. Second, read reviews of each vehicle at Consumer Reports, Edmunds.com, and any other reputable source you can find. If you’ll be buying a used car, look for reviews about used versions of the cars you’re looking for. Finally, talk to that car guy or gal you know, the one who’s always driving something interesting and impractical. Chances are good that he or she will have useful suggestions for you. And if you don’t know anyone who fits that description, OnRamp is happy to help. Just ask.

My first set of wheels looked like this, but in a more boring grey. It was basically a road-going couch with vinyl seats that stuck to your skin on hot days. I never street-raced because I already knew I’d never win.

For parents of new drivers, all the above principles apply, but let me add one more. Please do not buy your new driver more car than they can handle! Fast cars are a privilege to earn, not a rite-of-passage for testosterone-filled teens. On behalf of all innocent bystanders, please do not give a new driver a Corvette. Give him or her something slow and docile. My first car was an early 80’s two-wheel-drive Chevy Blazer. 0-60 took over ten seconds. You had to work to exceed the speed limit… which made it perfect for a new driver. You wouldn’t throw a toddler in the deep end to learn how to swim. So don’t throw your sixteen-year-old the keys to a sports car. So for all of our sakes, help your kid learn the skill of safe driving in something slow and boring.

Last question: What safety options do you really need? Is lane departure or auto-braking actually worth the thousands of dollars some manufacturers charge for these options? That depends on your budget. They are nice features, but they are not nearly as important as the safety features that are required by law on all new vehicles such as seatbelts, airbags, anti-lock brakes, crunch zones and backup cameras. If you have the money for these advanced features, spend it. If not, don’t worry. What matters far more is that no matter what vehicle you buy, you are always a fully engaged driver. Always.

Since this is an article on safety, I better cover my own butt. I am not a lawyer. I am not (currently) an engineer. My opinions are my own and I make no guarantees, expressed or implied, that my advice is true, competent, complete, or will save you from bodily harm or death. I’m just a guy who likes cars. That is all.

In Their Own Words

We recently completed our first major survey of our past OnRamp clients, and the results will warm your spirit on this cold day. Rather than read my words, here are actual quotes we collected from clients, anonymized to protect their privacy. When asked, “What personal goal have you made progress towards since receiving the vehicle?” here were some of the answers.

“I have been able to get to work. Thank you!”

“Becoming more independent financially. Managing money better. Believing in myself a lot more has been the best thing for me. Taking [my daughter] on adventures and truly enjoying life more.”

“Receiving this vehicle has allowed [our charity] to serve our community in a much wider capacity. We are able to take care of our clients transportation needs as well as carry us to important meetings and outreaches. This Tahoe has given us the freedom to serve. Thank you.”

“Headed toward marriage and a new life walking in faith.”

“Helping people who helped me”

”I can take my children to school knowing that I don't have to worry about it whether or not if it's raining or if it's cold regardless, my kids are safe and warm and dry. For school, I get to allow them to participate in after school activities. My son is thriving in basketball right now, so I'm grateful that not only can I go to his games, but I can make sure that he makes it to and from practice.”

“Going back to school to get better employment.”

“Health improving. Car extremely clean, lot of pride to get around. Work more.”

“Since receiving my vehicle, I have been able to get to and from work, which allows me to obviously provide for my kids. I've been able to get to and from my volunteer hours… I've also been able to stay, um, and work overtime at my job”

“Getting to work and to my sons Doc apts. Able to go to Church now, too.”

“I have made great progress and strides. I have received a better job with better pay. I have been able to visit doctor's offices when I need to… I have a new apartment that's even better than the last one that I was at.”

“Getting ready to become a teacher!!”

“You guys have definitely made a difference in my life. You gave me back my hope and confidence. Because of you I know now I can support my child and myself, and that is priceless to me. My goal is to become self-sufficient, and it’s certainly possible now thanks to you. May God continue to bless you as you have truly blessed us.”

Client 129 and Afghan Hospitality

Najib receiving his new Civic with his advocate John from the Bryan Rotary Club.

OnRamp staff and volunteers gathering with Najib to pray over his new car with his permission. Prayer is never forced in our ministry. We are always careful to ask the client if prayer is something they would like from us.

Our first client of 2023, Najib and Hedye, are the third family from Afghanistan that OnRamp has been privileged to serve. This stellar young couple was nominated by John Anderson and the Bryan Rotary Club who have gone above and beyond to help them settle into their new home here in the United States. They have actually made such progress since arriving that there were no additional action steps we needed them to take before qualifying for a vehicle. That’s not surprising. It takes incredible strength and perseverance to relocate half way around the world, learn a new language and culture, and make a new life for oneself! So without delay, we donated this 2012 Honda Civic to Najib and Hedye yesterday. Huge thanks to the donors who helped us purchase this vehicle, Christian Brothers for preparing it for donation, and Chip Jennings for cleaning it up for its new owners. As a reminder, like all of our clients, Najib and Hedye now become part of the OnRamp family and receive a full year of free maintenance, resourcing, and encouragement to help them along on their journey.

Sonita, with her husband Saboor and advocate Dr Shinn, explaining the incredible Afghan dishes she had cooked from scratch for us.

Coincidentally, one of our former Afghan clients, Saboor and Sonita celebrated great news last week as they received permanent status in the US! So they invited all those who’ve been part of their journey from Afghanistan to enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared by Sonita. Y’all, it was incredible! Afghan food is excellent. I did not found OnRamp so that I’d get home-cooked meals from clients… but I’m never going to pass on that! It was actually the second time this has happened recently. The week before, a former client named Catalina brought our whole staff homemade enchiladas! There were enough for me to take some home to my kids for dinner who wanted to make sure I knew they were much better than the tacos I make them every week. Yes, indeed they were, kids!

In OnRamp-organizational news, our primary goal for 2023 is to go deeper in our care for clients. We are implementing a massive new software system to better manage all of our intake, care, and processing for our clients. If you are an advocate or applicant, please bear with us patiently as we get that new system fully operational. And let us know if you have questions or haven’t heard from us in a timely manner. We’re still working out the bugs! More importantly, we’re meeting with new advocates and partners who can help us connect our clients to more services and care so they can make even more progress towards their goals.

Oh, and thanks to Wade Zimmer we now have a kicking front door to the office!

Sell us your Car and Bring your Baby to Work

We have two fun OnRamp updates to share. First, because God continues to work through you all to provide the funds we need, we are in a position to keep buying more reliable used cars. If you or anyone you know is considering trading in a vehicle to buy something new, would you consider offering it to us at the trade-in price if it’s on our list of preferred vehicles below? In particular, we are always looking for Toyotas and Hondas that are less than 15 years old and with less than 160k miles. Camrys, Corollas, Civics, Accords, and Yaris’ are our bread-and-butter. We also love Highlanders, Siennas, Odysseys, and Pilots if they still have lots of life left in them. Please let us know if you have a vehicle that meets our needs that you would sell us at trade-in value or below. Simply contact me at blakej@onramptx.org.

Second, we’ve moved into our new office and are loving it! Thank you to all the charities, businesses, and churches that donated furniture and supplies. We have spent only about $150 so far to fully outfit this office. Stephanie, Cassidy, and I are enjoying building our team after years of trying to coordinate over zoom. While remote-work is a blessing at times, it is wonderful to be in-person, especially for building camaraderie and improving efficiency. We had a great time with our spouses at the TAMU-LSU game (quite a win!). And we’ve just completed going through Strengths Finder, which I highly recommend if you’ve never done it. Among many strengths we each bring to the table, Stephanie is our Developer, Cassidy is our Empathizer, and I’m the Analytical dude. I’m grateful for a diverse team. I’m also grateful for periodic work breaks to play with Cassidy’s new daughter, Peyton. Baby breaks are the best!

Cars are Essential to Health: Clients 127 & 128

Our most recent clients demonstrate the inescapable connection between personal transportation and physical health. A community can have the best doctors, nurses, and hospital facilities in the world, but if patients can’t get to those medical providers because they lack transportation, it’s all for naught.

Ruby in her new Corolla, excited for new-found independence.

Ruby, our 127th client, lives in rural Burleson county ten miles from Caldwell, her nearest town. She lives down a dirt road in an isolated home. While her income can support her basic needs, it is not enough to buy a car. As a result, she has to walk miles to get to town, or pay an exorbitant amount for a ride-share such as Uber. This severely limits her access to medical care, and could be life-threatening in the case of an emergency. Fortunately, Ruby had a good friend in her advocate, Mary, who works with a ministry called Fishes and Loaves that has delivered supplemental groceries to Ruby every other week for years. Mary saw how lack of transportation threatened Ruby’s health, and made simple tasks like getting to the grocery store incredibly difficult. So with Mary’s compelling nomination, OnRamp donated a Corolla to Ruby to ensure she has access to the medical care, grocery store, and community services that make like possible.

Cassidy and Rami tag-teamed to give this sweet Toyota to our 128th client.

Our 128th client, whose identity we’re keeping private, is a young single mom who was diagnosed last year with a debilitating, incurable illness. She works hard, is well-organized, and had proven self-sufficient as she cared for her child, began treatment, and held down a job. But the wheels came off when her high-mileage car broke down shortly after her diagnosis. Without reliable transportation, she had no way to get to work, school, church, or to medical appointments. Fortunately, we were able to donate a reliable Toyota to her, restoring her independence and self-sufficiency as she faces this significant medical challenge.

Health policy scholars have long documented that lack of transportation is a barrier to employment opportunities, access to healthcare, and access to safety-net social services, particularly for poor single mothers and older adults. OnRamp aims to meet this need throughout the Brazos Valley so that our neighbors can experience better health in 2023 regardless of their income level.

Totally unrelated but fun update: our first-ever OnRamp office is coming along nicely! I can already feel my productivity rising thanks to triple screens, new dry erase board, spotify chillhop, and Stirling Moss/917 inspiration :-)

2022 Year in Review

By nearly every measure, 2022 was OnRamp’s biggest year yet. Despite record-breaking world-wide inflation in the used car market, God allowed us to provide reliable vehicles to 41 new client families, an increase of four over last year. Between these 41 adult recipients, there are 68 dependent children in these homes. Each of these children now has transportation to school activities, doctor appointments, church, and community events. These vehicles will change the trajectory of each of these young lives, affording them new opportunities for growth and health. Furthermore, we were able to gift our first vehicle in Houston, serving an Afghan family rescued from the Taliban. We were able to do the same for another local family in Bryan and provide free drivers’ education to three young Afghan women rescued last year. As always, we provided numerous repairs to already reliable vehicles for other local families, over two-dozen this year alone. We also provided gas cards and Uber credits to dozens of local families for short-term transportation assistance. On the staffing front, we added a new staff member, Cassidy Somervill, to improve the care we provide to each client family, and are in the process of transitioning our Operations Director, Stephanie Mason, from part-time to full-time. We are thrilled to continue to enlarge the wrap-around services we offer to our clients during their year of free maintenance. In non-transportation news, our growing staff has allowed Blake Jennings, our Founder, to serve the community in new ways, including mentoring local charitable leaders and helping to launch an Affordable Housing Coalition to lean into this growing crisis in our state.

We are so grateful to God and to the generous donors He raised up to fund this growing ministry. In 2022, we have raised nearly $700,000. Finally tallies await end of the year giving. To continue meeting these needs in spite of massive inflation, we desire to raise $830,000 in 2023. This is an ambitious goal! But we are confident that God will provide every dollar needed to accomplish exactly the ministry He wants us to accomplish this year. If you feel led to help us keep our momentum going, please consider giving a year end gift by visiting our Give page. You can give online or by check, as well as through stocks and estate designations.

Being Salt And Light In Post-Christian America

By guest author and board member, Austin Rogers.

A recent study from Pew Research warns of a startling trend concerning religion in American. Our nation appears to be rapidly moving away from church as a meaningful, communal part of life, replacing it with social media, various forms of entertainment, and political tribalism. Since the early 1990s, the portion of Americans self-identifying as Christian has declined from over 90% to 63%. These “deconverts” almost all became “nones,” or religiously unaffiliated. That does not necessarily mean they became atheists. They simply became disinterested in faith, failing to see any benefit of it to their lives. The church’s allure is fading, and a shrinking share of Americans want to be part of it, even in name only.

What will the future look like if present trends continue? Pew modeled a rather dire set of possible scenarios based on a few sets of assumptions. In all of them, they see Christian self-identification continuing to decline, and in the most likely scenarios, the percentage of Americans who self-identify as Christian is expected to fall below 50% sometime in the next few decades.

Most of the decline is due to the successive drop off in religious affiliation in each younger generation. Here is the share of four broad age groups who attend religious services at least weekly:

·      43% of Americans 60 or older

·      27% of Americans aged 45-49

·      25% of Americans aged 30-44

·      21% of Americans aged 18-29

Though there has been slippage across most demographic groups in Christian self-identification, it is mainly the drop off among younger Americans causing the overall decline in religious affiliation.

These are concerning trends, and they can easily lead Christians to despair. The United States is steadily becoming a “post-Christian nation” reminiscent of Europe.

In the face of this religious decline, especially among the young, what are Christians to do? Perhaps we should begin by asking, What could make the gospel and the church compelling to younger generations? Fortunately, that answer is readily available.

For younger generations in America, two key virtues are authenticity and selflessness.

Gen Z, those born between 1997-2012, are the first generation raised entirely in the digital age. They’ve been on social media since their parents first posted pictures of them in diapers. Online life has developed within them a keen and innate ability to distinguish between what’s real and what’s fake. They have scrolled past enough filtered and edited selfies, and posted enough of them themselves, to have learned that so much of what people present, both online and offline, is fake – an inauthentic performance meant to capture attention rather than portray reality.

In a world awash with performative behaviors and attention-seeking, one way Christians can be compelling in post-Christian America is simply to be authentic.

Likewise, in the digital age, what often passes as “selflessness” is no more than virtue signaling paradoxically meant to draw attention and praise to oneself from a sympathetic group. Rather than worry ourselves with the hard business of actually doing good in the world, we often find it easier and more satisfying to publicly highlight our good intentions or complain about others’ faults, not unlike the Pharisee praying aloud in the temple from the gospel story.

For everyone in the digital age, and especially for the younger generations who have lived their entire lives in it, it is starkly counter-cultural to be truly selfless – to love one’s neighbor like the Good Samaritan even when no one else sees it – amid a sea of virtue signaling.

Rather than despair the changing culture and declining Christian self-identification of Americans, let us believers be a minority of people known for our counter-cultural authenticity and selfless love of others. This is how we can be “salt” and “light” in post-Christian America, to borrow Jesus’s metaphors from the Sermon on the Mount.

At OnRamp, it is our earnest desire to illustrate the authentic beauty and selfless love of God to our increasingly post-Christian culture. Whether it draws more to the faith, as we hope, is not up to us. But whether we are faithful to that calling is.

Expanding Impact: Working on Affordable Housing

Thanks to the generosity of donors and visionary leadership on our Board of Directors, I have been empowered this fall to focus time on a problem just as big as lack of transportation: lack of affordable housing in Brazos county. Almost every OnRamp applicant lists “Buy a Home” as one of their long-term goals. This is wisdom since home ownership is the single largest driver of generational wealth transfer. Becoming a home owner is how the vast majority of families build wealth that lasts decades. Money that went to rent builds equity instead; equity that can be passed down to one’s heirs. That’s how families move from subsistence to middle class stability.

Unfortunately, the dream of home ownership has fallen on hard times. From 2010 to 2021, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Brazos county rose 59%, adjusted for inflation! In contrast, median income grew only 13% for white families, and actually dropped 19% for black or African American families. In other words, home ownership is no longer a realistic possibility for most workers. Even teachers, nurses, and police officers, people with degrees and specialized training, are being priced out of the market. There is a growing sense of hopelessness for people in the bottom economic half in our community who see the path to home ownership getting longer every year. This problem must be addressed quickly and decisively, or we risk losing vital workers throughout our community. More than that, we risk becoming a community where the American ideals of advancement and growth are no longer realistic possibilities.

For these reasons, I have begun to invest significant time throughout the fall working with others in the world of charity, church, business, and government to strategize innovative solutions to this pressing problem. We’re still in the initial phases of research, ideation, and networking, but we are beginning to make real progress which I look forward to sharing with you in the future. For now, my goal is to simply inform you that when you donate to OnRamp, you are helping with more than just transportation! Your generosity funds my time to lean into the housing crisis as well as coach younger charitable leaders providing a host of services and ministries to the community. Once a teacher, always a teacher. Thank you so much for making this career possible for me! I’ve never had a job I enjoy as much as this, nor one where I can so readily see the impact God is allowing me to have. Your gifts are making a difference in many areas of need in the Brazos Valley!

Helping Jay Meador and Max Gerall lead a discussion about affordable housing barriers with a home ownership class taught by the Reach Project.