One Jewish Family and Career Services (JF&CS) counseling client is raising two children on her own and struggling to make ends meet. Her car is one of the few possessions her family has, and when it stops running, she feels helpless. How will she get to work? How will she take her children to their appointments?

Luckily, the agency is there to help. An "old clunker" that was donated through the car donation program will serve as the client's new car until she can afford to purchase one on her own.

JF&CS has been collecting vehicles (they take boats, trailers and RVs too!) for over a decade. While over 80 percent of the donated cars need to be towed in and are later sold for parts, the proceeds from these sales go straight to serving the needs of the clients.

"In many cases it is more beneficial to sell the cars and use the funds to maintain existing services for our clients," says Susan Metz, who coordinates the program at JF&CS. "This money helps fill the gaps in budgets."

In 2003 the agency brought in about $31,000 from donated vehicles. Proceeds this year should exceed that figure. If you would like to donate a vehicle, contact Susan Metz at 770-677-9378 or smetz@jfcs-atlanta.org.

Jewish Family & Career Services is one of Federation's local beneficiary agencies, and received an allocation of $1,643,916 in FY04.