BALTIMORE — Cars with Care is gearing up to give away its 10th car this year, and after a challenging year, the Baltimore nonprofit is not giving up but needs community support now more than ever.
Since 2016, Cars with Care has been surprising families in Baltimore on Christmas morning with a free pre-owned car. Now in their ninth year, they are giving away their 10th vehicle.
"It's absolutely a blessing to have longevity. I think longevity speaks to how people connect to the cause and connects with us as men and what we're committed to doing in the community," Stephen Green said.
Baltimore nonprofit prepares to give away 10th car this Christmas despite challenging year
Eric Randall says each year brings him joy because he knows he is part of changing families' lives.
"They got in the car and said mom we finally got a car, we're finally going to be warm, you know. So it just kind of puts it into perspective that we don't cherish certain things and I'm just thankful to be a part of a child's memory," Randall said.
But Damond Horne says without continued support from the community each year, it's challenging keeping the Christmas Day tradition alive.
"Without you all we could not do it. It's really a connective, collective effort from everybody involved every year. And a little background, we almost didn't do it this year. Nobody knows that but this year has been a very hard year for a lot of us, this month has been a very hard month, but we came together and said we're going to knock it out, we can't stop the flow," Horne said.
Despite challenges, Cars with Care has secured the 10th car and is currently fixing it up, including giving the car a brand new engine.
All of the repairs, upgrades and changes to the car come at a cost, but that's not the only thing the organization puts money toward.
"We help with gas money, car insurance, tags, so you know every dollar counts because you got to think this family, who's to say they can afford car insurance right away? They don't even know if they are going to get a car and Maryland just went up on their prices right, so every dollar absolutely counts," Randall said.
Which is why for the past five years Cars with Care has held a gala as a final fundraiser before the car is given away. The gala is on December 12th at the Patapsco Arena from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am.
Tickets for the event are still available.
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