About New Hope Automotive
We are a brand new IRS recognized 501(c)(3) charity. We want to help people that cannot afford to take their vehicle to a traditional retail auto shop by fixing their vehicle at an extremely low cost. We need some funding to get off the ground, fund website building and social media, fund some equipment and tools, and funding to cover some of the cost of parts and labor for the vehicles we bring in.
People depend on their car for everything: basic transportation to and from work, going to the doctor, going to the grocery store, dropping off and picking up kids, and other functions that most people would consider normal. Someone without a working vehicle has to depend on ride sharing services, mass-transit services that are not typically available in most Michigan communities, or less efficient modes of transportation like bicycles or walking. The people that someone without a vehicle depend on to pick them up and give them a ride are usually un-dependable themselves, and ride sharing services become cost-prohibitive as well. People can also depend on their vehicle for much more serious uses such as a place to live or sleep that is out of the weather, or to escape an abusive situation.
Not having a safe, operable vehicle is usually the first domino to fall on a person’s way to poverty or homelessness. If you don’t have a way to get to work, then you will eventually lose your job. I read an article recently and a statistic stuck with me: between 1969 and 2013 the median income of families with cars rose 20%, from $55,000 to $62,000 (adjusted for inflation). During this same period of time, families without cars (or without working cars) saw their income fall 34% from $26,000 to $17,000. (Info from Transfers Magazine “The Necessity of Cars” Aug of 2023.)
We just want to help people get out of the poverty cycle by giving them the freedom and confidence that comes from having a car the is safe and reliable. If they don’t own a vehicle we can help connect them with resources to help them get one.
In the future we hope to be able to purchase a building and open a full-time, full-service non-profit shop that services only vehicles for clients that fit the low-income profile.
Please consider joining us in our mission of making sure disadvantaged people can get their vehicle repaired for minimal cost and get back on the road to bettering their lives!
Thank you sincerely for reading this and considering a donation, we truly appreciate it!
