Helping Lives Change Direction

Sometimes the only thing a person needs to take a new direction in life--a new job, finishing a college degree--is a way to get there.

Vehicles for Change, located at 5230 Washington Boulevard in Halethorpe, is a nonprofit organization that allows people to donate cars to help families in need.

“If you are a single mom trying to get kids to day care and trying to get to work on time, you just can’t do it with public transportation,” says Marty Schwartz, president of the organization.

Ninety percen of the families the program helps are single mothers with two or more kids according to Schwartz. Qualified recipients are identitifed through social service agencies and must meet income requirements before they can qualify for a Vehicles for Change guaranteed loan, which will also help the family establish credit.

“The impact is phenomenal," Schwartz explains. "Seventy percent of the folks who get a car from us get a better job within 12 months of getting the car.”

This program is also unique because people can get full market value for the donation of a decent car.  Other organizations that assist families with transportation needs take car donations to auctions and the person who donated the car can only write off the amount of money the car sold for.

Because Vehicles for Change actually awards the car to a family, a person donating a car to them can deduct the car’s full market value, which is usually about twice as much as the deductions from auctioned cars according to Schwartz.

The non-profit organization also sells cars to the general public to generate 30 percent of their revenue. Most of the cars in the front lot can be purchased by anyone and usually cost between $3,000-$6,000.

Vehicles for Change enjoys their location in Halethorpe because it allows their drivers to get off and back on the highway quickly with deliveries.  While they are not getting as many high quality cars as they once were, the program is enjoying a full lot of vehicles. One hundred percent of the profits from each one will go back into the program to restore vehicles.