Gene and Joe from Wheelz2Work. (Credit: Bucks County Opportunity Council)
A Bucks County program that helps struggling families secure reliable transportation is offering a limited-time reward for donors.
The Gene and Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund has pledged to give $1,000 to anyone who donates a car accepted into the Bucks County Opportunity Council’s Wheelz2Work program, according to a news release. The initiative, launched in 2015, matches donated vehicles with participants in BCOC’s Economic Self-Sufficiency program who are working toward financial independence but face transportation as a barrier.
Philanthropist Gene Epstein, who has long supported the program, said his own childhood experiences inspired the effort.
“From personal experiences when I was a young person, and we were being evicted from our home, the direst need was transportation,” Epstein said in a release. “Today we see so many people, particularly in Bucks County, who have no access to public transportation and without that they cannot get to work or local colleges.”
Since its inception, Wheelz2Work has placed nearly 120 cars with families in need. Recipients are screened to ensure financial readiness to take on the costs of ownership, and all donated vehicles are inspected by certified mechanics before being handed over. Donors also receive the maximum tax deduction based on the car’s fair market value.
One former client said the gift of transportation transformed her family’s daily life: “Receiving a car from Wheelz2Work has made our lives happier and more manageable. I no longer have to walk to shop only at the stores which are close to our home and pay whatever prices those stores charge, which are always higher. I no longer have to try to take several trains and buses to get to just one single destination.”
Donating is simple, according to BCOC. Forms are available at www.bcoc.org/wheelz-2-work
