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Auto Industry Teams Up With C4C To Aid The Community
DATELINE KANSAS CITY: Each year, during the Twelve Days of Christmas, Cars 4 Christmas president Terry Franz gives cars away to individuals and families in the Kansas City community who have a true need due to a crisis or tragedy. With the support of the local auto industry and the Kansas City community, Cars 4 Christmas is entering its 9th Christmas Season and now gives cars away all year long.
Unlike any charity in the country, Cars 4 Christmas accepts car donations from the community, repairs and refurbishes them and gives them back to the community. There's one requirement for individuals receiving a car—it's not possible to get one any other way.
“How many people in the US are annually impacted by an uncontrollable life change so dire they can no longer buy or attain an automobile?” That's a question Franz wondered in the early 90's before he started Cars 4 Christmas.
Beginning in 1996 with 6 donated vehicles, Franz has since created a network amongst the Kansas City automotive industry, many local individual donors and media to supply hundreds of vehicles to very deserving people and families. Now Cars 4 Christmas is expanding to Omaha, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri—with the organization's first annual golf tournament coming up in August in Kansas City to kick off the expansion effort.
A thirty year auto-sales veteran in Kansas City, Franz has seen a lot of good people caught in some of life's harshest realities. If they lose reliable transportation as a result, the situations just get worse.
“There's a section of society made up of very good, very hardworking people who have been slammed to the ground by life,” said Franz, “with a sick or dying child, sudden disability, situations that are unforseen and very serious financially. Without reliable transportation they can't get a child to the doctor or get to work or do all the other important things that don't go away when tragedy decides to strike and sometimes stay.”
Before starting Cars 4 Christmas, Franz realized that Local food pantry's were supported by the food industry and that Habitat For Humanity was supported by building supply companies.
“I thought the automotive industry would be willing to support a community effort to provide people with basic transportation needs if someone would organize it.”
He was right.
“This is completely a community effort,” says Franz. “The auto industry sees the value in getting people mobile again and in helping the community—we're already seeing the same response in Omaha and St. Louis. And of course individual people are tremendously important in making this program work. We've really become a part of the local culture.”
Industry sponsors include O'Reilly's Auto Parts, AmeriStar Casinos, Quik Trip, and many local dealerships.
“We're still in need of industry specific sponsors that can partner with Cars 4 Christmas to provide certain goods and services and work with us on a community wide level,” said Franz. “The goal is to go national.”
Cars 4 Christmas can be reached by visiting www.cars4christmas.org or by contacting project coordinator Steve Sanborn at 816.268.8844
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