5th Annual Golf Event, 5 cars to 5 families!

In spite of the rain, the Wheels4Hope 5th Annual Golf Tournament was a success

with 5 glowing recipients driving off with keys to safe, reliable transportation as car owners! 

Grinning golfers shared many rain stories about golf clubs slipping out of hands, and ducks in the way of golf carts.

Everyone rejoiced as the keys were handed to the car owners during the car blessing celebration.

Five families received the keys to safe, reliable transportation at the 5^th Annual Golf Tournament on Monday. Karen is a participant in the Life Skills Program at StepUp Ministry.  She was excited to be more stable with a car of her own, a Ford Taurus. Community Success Initiative referred Lisa to Wheels4Hope.  She rejoiced in the freedom of car ownership with her Nissan Sentra. Due to a car accident, Denise lost her car. With the support of Triangle Family Services she will continue to build a life for herself and her kids giving her security and stability in her Toyota Sienna. Donlia wants to continue to be self-sufficient as a mom and teacher, while helping others in her community.  Referred by The Carying Place, her Mazda 626 will help her reach her goals. Working for over a year with Passage Home, Nekita rejoiced in being referred to Wheels4Hope. Her Honda Odyssey will be used to provide accessibility to resources that will benefit her family, such as the grocery store, PTA meetings, soccer games, church, and work.

Passage Home shared, “In 2015, Nekita was unemployed and homeless. She struggled with addiction, and her children had to live with family and friends. She felt hopeless and her life was out of control. She had made many poor choices but she wanted to reunite with her children. Nekita knew she needed to make changes in the direction of her life. This is when she came to Passage Home.

Our case managers worked hand in hand with Nekita. With a rental subsidy from Passage Home, a home was found. Through Passage Home’s employment programs, Nekita was able to take courses at Wake Technical Community College and NC State which made her more employable. We also supported her sobriety by holding her accountable to meeting with a substance abuse counselor and attending meetings.

She set goals to ensure she would remain employable, and we helped her find a job. Because she had a permanent address and new career skills, Nekita’s efforts to find employment were rewarded. Most importantly, her children moved back. Today, Nekita is self-sufficient. She has a home. She has a full time job and recently received a promotion! Once again they are a family.”

Nekita’s journey is still in progress; using buses, UBER, family and friends, she works full-time and supports her children. Her son plays soccer and football, and she wants a  vehicle to get back and forth to his games and spend more time with both her children. On Monday she received keys to her “new” 02 Honda Odyssey as part of the Golf Event car blessing. Learning about her vehicle Nekita shared, "Getting a car means accessibility to resources that will benefit my family,  being able to drive to the grocery store, to attend PTA meetings, go to my son's sports games, being able to attend church, etc. It will be life changing, giving us the freedom to live and not be bound by other's availability."

Donlia has not had a vehicle in over a year, and she still owes money on it.  She relied on church friends, UBER, family, and rental cars to get around including to her job as a 1^st grade teacher. The Carying Place referred Donlia, and she is currently in their aftercare program.  When asked what a vehicle will mean to her, she shared, “I can continue to be self-sufficient as a mom, teacher and help to others in my community.”  She and her daughters will be smiling as they travel in their 02 Mazda 626 for the first time.

Each of the women receiving the keys to their car have received services through a local agency supporting them to be self-sufficient. People referred from Wheels4Hope’s partner agencies purchase a Program Car for $500 (plus tags & title fees), including a 6-month warranty. Nekita and Donlia are two of the five people that received their vehicle on April 24^th. Congratulations to our recipients and blessings for your continued journey. Thank you to everyone who participated and all of our sponsors.