Why a Vehicle Donation?

Danny would’ve been 21 on October 12, 2022. That’s an important birthday. While wondering how to “celebrate” and remember Danny on his birthday, I looked at his van that had been sitting in our yard for over a year. I literally felt the words “donate it to a family for me”. I knew this was a message from Danny to give his van to a deserving family, from him on his birthday.

So I started making phone calls. I called the organizations with commercials on TV about donating vehicles. They all said that they would gladly pick up the van. However, they do not donate to families. The vehicles are either scraped or sent it to auction. Now I know they would do good things with the money, but I quickly felt Danny say “NO, it’s going to a family”. So I challenged Danny to help me find the family, and he did!

That same week, we had dinner with the pastor who officiated Danny’s funeral and his wife. After telling them the story about the road blocks I was having, they recommended the perfect family.

When I was telling a business friend about our plans, he said “lets fill the van”. I thought, sure, I’ll fill it with gas. He said “No, it’s a van going to a family with kids, lets fill it with non-perishables & stuff”. Business friends donated canned good, paper products, laundry detergent and more. They gave money, which in turn we purchased some toys and clothes for the kids. On Danny’s birthday celebration, friends and family brought “a gift for Danny” and helped “fill the van”.

Danny orchestrated all of it. This family is so amazing. They were down to one vehicle, two kids, walking to work and daycare…. Danny’s van was a game changer for them. Bob Hoffman from Fox 47 News heard about it and did a Good Neighbors segment on it. You can watch it here.

We now are planning on doing a similar project every year.