Collision Clinic gives away 19th free car despite supply chain challenges
Cassie Ward of Mount Pearl is this year's recipient
Getting a free car for Christmas isn't just an amazing gift — for Cassie Ward of Mount Pearl, it's life-changing.
"Surreal, completely surreal," said a tearful Ward, sitting in the driver's seat of a refurbished Kia Soul. "I don't even know what to think. This is amazing."
Ward was the recipient of the Collision Clinic's Enriching Lives car giveaway program in St. John's, an initiative that gifts a fully rebuilt vehicle, including the first year of insurance coverage, to a family during the holiday season.
This is the 19th year the business has given a car to a successful applicants, but this Christmas season, applicants seemed to express more need for the gift than in previous years, said general manager Sharon Wells.
Aside from not being able to afford transportation, Wells said, many of this year's applicants expressed difficulties purchasing food for their families. She said many applicants also shared stories about job losses, and struggles providing for their loved ones due to the rising cost of living.
An outside selection committee is tasked with choosing the winner, Wells said, which was a very challenging job because of how much demand there was for the vehicle this year.
Wells also said it was difficult to find a car to give away this year due to supply shortages of car parts. While Collision Clinic usually tries to purchase and repair a car over the summer, Wells said, this year's vehicle wasn't ready until the last minute because of how difficult it was to find a suitable car to refurbish.
Despite the challenges, Wells says being able to change at least one person's life every Christmas makes the project more than worthwhile.
"We all feel very warm when we know that we've helped somebody," said Wells. "It's very humbling, to say the least."
Ward says she recently started a new position in a job she loves in the Goulds area. Without a car, she said, it was challenging to commute and she often had to ask people for rides or pay for costly taxis.
Ward says she applied to the Enriching Lives program to help support herself and her children, so when she learned she had been chosen, she was overcome with emotion.
"I was at work when I got the phone call, and I fell to the floor crying," said Ward. "And I cried for about three hours afterwards, 'cause it was just surreal."
Collision Clinic staff repair the car while its sister company, Auto Parts Network, provides the new car parts needed. Ward says she couldn't wait to take her kids for a spin in her new car, a Christmas gift she says she'll never forget.
"To know that they do this every year, on their own dime and their own time, to help somebody else is just … they deserve the cars, they do," she said. "This is going to change everything."
With files from Peter Cowan