Aaliyah | Harford County

Friday, August 16, 2019 5:30 PM

Aaliyah, who recently moved to Harford County, is a Johns Hopkins employee and mother of a six-year-old son. Commuting by public transportation to work took Aaliyah up to two hours one way - a ride that only takes 20 minutes by taking a costly Uber or Lyft ride. Oftentimes, Aaliyah's commute takes so long she has to stay with her son at her mother's house in Baltimore City, especially when she's scheduled to work an early morning shift the following day.

Now with her newly awarded 2012 Mazda 5 through our low-cost Car Award program, Aaliyah is able to spend more time with her son and no longer has to rely on rides from friends and family members or public transportation to get to where she needs to go. Aaliyah is looking forward to cutting down her commute time and being able to drive her son to daycare in their own personal car. While Aaliyah’s new car will allow her to spend more...

James | Baltimore City

Wednesday, July 31, 2019 3:01 PM

James is a hard-working single dad with a passion for restorative construction, computer science and learning new things. James was originally born in Long Island. Later in life, he moved to Baltimore City from Florida, where his daughter and her mother currently live. Right now, James works in restorative bridge and tunnel construction. “I love my job!” he says. “I’m happy with the job I'm doing in construction.” James has been working with PDI Sheetz Construction for about a month now.

Commuting by bus has been difficult for James. Sometimes the cost of commuting is too high, and he has had trouble finding the funds to pay for it and get to work. James’ average commute time is an hour and a half to two hours by bus. This same commute takes a mere fifteen minutes by car.

Now with his newly awarded 2003 Jeep Liberty from Vehicles for Change, James has a lot to look forward to! As he...

Ivorie | Harford County, MD

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 7:56 PM

Ivorie is a mom of three boys, two of which are her four-year-old twins named Matthew and Michael. Ivory is a Harford County resident and currently works for Amazon, a commute more than 40 miles from home, which translates to a three-hour commute by bus. Without transportation of their own, Ivorie and her family’s quality of life has wavered. As a mother, Ivorie wants to spend more time with her children, but it’s a challenge when the majority of her day is spent commuting to-and-from work. Lack of transportation has also taken a toll on her children’s health. As Ivorie explained, “One of my twins needs to go have his tonsils out. Without a car, I couldn't take him. It's hard to watch your kids be sick like that and know they need the surgery and you can't get them there.”

Now with her newly awarded 2012 Chevrolet Malibu from Vehicles for Change, Ivorie is looking forward to a shorter...

Fhalleane | Baltimore City

Thursday, July 18, 2019 1:30 PM

Fhalleane is a single mother of four children aged sixteen, fourteen, ten and nine. She is also the grandmother to her one-week-old grandchild. Originally from South Carolina, Fhalleane currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland. When not spending time with her children, Fhalleane works nights in the nursing industry. Fhalleane has worked in healthcare for eight months now, and hopes to continue forward in the medical field. As Fhalleane explained, she would love to enroll in courses to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Paramedic. However, achieving this goal without a vehicle to help her get back and forth to training is a challenge. Fhalleane had to rely heavily on car services like Uber and Lyft, which came at a high cost. These expenses were so high that Fhalleane would sometimes make three transfers on her way to work. Fhalleane took buses as close as she could get to...

Nadia | Silver Spring

Thursday, June 27, 2019 8:40 PM

Nadia, originally from Somalia, currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her four children aged ten, seven, five, and one. On top of raising her children, Nadia is also a hardworking nursing student at Prince George’s Community College. Nadia is passionate about learning, especially when it comes to nursing. While Nadia lives approximately seven miles from work, as a mother of four, her morning and evening commutes include multiple stops at different locations. In Nadia’s words, “the commute time felt like it lasted forever.” Nadia made stops to drop her children off at school and daycare, while also making frequent trips to the grocery store. Nadia described life without a car as stressful. As a nursing student, Nadia must be on time for her clinicals, one of which begins at 6:00 in the morning.

With her 2005 Dodge Grand Cherokee from Vehicles For Change, Nadia’s average...

Lenci | Baltimore City

Monday, June 24, 2019 3:15 PM

Lenci currently lives in Baltimore City, is an employee of Sinai hospital and the father of a fifteen-year-old son. While Lenci lives approximately twelve miles away from work, his average commute ranges from an hour and a half to two hours by bus. Life without a car not only affected Lenci, but also his son. Relying on public transportation meant that Lenci and his son were subjected to the weather, bus routes being shut down, and in some cases, violence. Without having transportation of his own, it was also difficult for Lenci's son to participate in after-school sports and activities. 

With his new 2000 Saturn Station Wagon from Vehicles for Change, Lenci now looks forward to a 20-minute commute to-and-from work every morning. With his VFC car, Lenci stated that he will have more time to prepare for work in the morning. In Lenci’s words, his new car makes him feel “like a kid in a...

Beatrice | Baltimore City

Thursday, June 6, 2019 7:31 PM

Beatrice was born and raised in Baltimore City. She works for Personal Home Care, with one job in Catonsville and another in Baltimore City. These commutes made relying on public transportation difficult, as buses were often crowded, delayed and made multiple stops along her route to work. Traveling by bus took Beatrice an hour and a half to get to Catonsville.  Beatrice is also a mother to seven-year-old, Walter. When commuting by bus, Beatrice made one stop to drop off Walter at school, then caught another two buses to work. Commuting by bus often caused Beatrice to arrive home after her son had already fallen asleep.

Beatrice also struggled with getting to the grocery store, carrying her shopping bags on her commute and missing doctor’s appointments due to late and delayed buses. While public transportation caused Beatrice troubles in carrying out daily chores, it also affected her...

Monique - Lansdowne

Friday, May 24, 2019 7:46 PM

Monique is a working mother to two daughters and one son. Originally from Washington D.C., Monique now resides in Lansdowne. However, Monique’s job is 40 miles away in Rockville. For Monique, getting to work without a car meant trying to catch rides with friends or take Lyfts. Monique’s commute to work usually took more than 45 minutes. With three kids, Monique also made stops dropping off her children at school and daycare in the morning, as well as picking them back up after work. Along with taking care of her three children, Monique also takes her cousin to his dialysis appointments three times a week. Owning her own car would make getting to and from these appointments much smoother. Without a car, Monique and her children had to find ways to get to the grocery store and do laundry. It was also difficult for Monique and her children to visit their relatives in D.C. as much as they...

Lorelle C. - Howard County

Friday, May 10, 2019 1:47 PM

Lorelle C. is a hard-working mother of two daughters, Dylan and Khayla, aged 7 and 21. Originally raised in West Baltimore, Lorelle now resides in Columbia, Maryland. Even though Lorelle lives in Howard County, she works in the city at the Baltimore City Health Department. Without a car, this meant that Lorelle’s commute could last up to two hours. Additionally, other stops on her route included dropping off her daughter to daycare in the morning and picking her back up in the afternoon. Lorelle relied on taking the bus and occasionally catching a ride from friends or family, even to the grocery store. Lorelle stated that she also struggled with not receiving invites to events and family gatherings due to her need for car rides. 

After receiving her 2003 Subaru Forester through our Car Award program, Lorelle stated that owning a car will grant her newfound independence. Lorelle...

Lacey | Pasadena, MD

Monday, April 1, 2019 2:18 PM

Lacey is a hard-working single mother of three children aged 11, 9, and 8 years old. She currently lives with her beautiful family in Pasadena, Maryland. Without a car of her own, Lacey has to rely on friends and family to drive to her job at Holts Construction. If she is unable to find a ride, then she must commute by bus, doubling the time it takes to get to work. Lacey found it difficult always having to be dependent on others’ schedules. But, more importantly, she struggled to spend quality time with her children such as simple outings, like the park or the local mall. Not having a car impeded her ability to schedule routine doctor’s appointments for herself and her family.

Now that she has her car award from VFC, a 2008 yellow Hyundai Accent, Lacey no longer has to worry about depending on others to help her get to work on time! Lacey is looking forward to having more job...