Make a Difference by Donating a Car, Boat, Etc., to Habitat Cars for Homes Program
Make a difference in your community by donating a vehicle to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg as part of the Cars for Homes program.
Proceeds from the sale of your donated vehicle go toward Habitat’s mission of building homes, communities and hope right here in our community, specifically from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to New Kent. All Habitat houses are sold to local qualifying families who pay a zero-interest equivalent mortgage back to Habitat, which then cycles that money back into the community.
Quite simply, says Janet V. Green, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg, “It’s a win-win.”
Habitat for Humanity International started its Cars for Homes program 17 years ago, initially raising $107,000. Last fiscal year, the program distributed $10 million to local affiliates. The operation remains streamlined; Marcia Rundle, the Director, is part of a three-person staff.
While the program is called Cars for Homes, just about any kind of vehicle can be donated, including trucks, recreational vehicles, boats, snowmobiles and farm and construction equipment. The vehicle doesn’t have to run (inflated tires are a must) and you don’t have to worry about figuring out how to drop it off.
Go to Habitat’s online form and answer just a few questions about your donation and Habitat will schedule a convenient pickup time. You can also call 877-277-4344 and provide vehicle information over the phone. Donations are tax deductible.
Once the vehicle is picked up, it is sold at an auction in the open market. On occasion, a pickup truck or van might be used by the affiliate to haul construction materials. In that case, the title is transferred from the owner to the affiliate.
“Affiliates need pickup trucks and vans for their builds,” Rundle says.
Used cars are fetching a particularly good price in today’s market — among the reasons Cars for Homes could exceed the $10 million this year, Rundle says.
Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg has been a part of that remarkable growth, amassing $32,000 this fiscal year through January 2022, which is more than double the amount made in the prior fiscal year, “and we still have five more months to go,” Rundle says. “It could easily crack $50,000 this year.”
Dot Bowling, Bookkeeper at the local Habitat office, donated her 2000 Mazda minivan that once toted her children along with various sports equipment to games around Newport News.
“It was simple,” she says. “It’s an easy way to make a difference.”
