Mo Riles’ green ride was hard to miss. People were quick to give him the side-eye as he drove the dilapidated vehicle around town. Even more threw out insults as they posted pictures on social media.
“Being held together by a thread. And duct tape!”
“Talk about a fugitive from the salvage yard.”
“Look like Hulk smashed it.”
“Tree hit you bud.”
“Why did I just bust out laughing at the first sight of this?”
Riles noticed of course, but the 2000 Chevy Silverado truck was the only way he could get to work. His tight budget had no extra money to fix it or buy a new one. Lucky for him, the state of Indiana doesn’t require car inspections and the truck got him around just fine despite its many problems.
So he kept driving it and tried to ignore the unwanted attention.
But when car detail shop owner Colin Crowel saw a picture of the truck online, he knew there must be more to the story. No one, he thought, would choose to drive such a clunker unless they had to.
When he reached out to Riles to connect, he learned that Riles has worked his whole life. But unexpected expenses related to later-life health issues have strained his financial situation. He was still making it to his job at the Dollar Tree and living up to his responsibilities, yet he was struggling.
Rather than being one more person making fun of Riles, Crowel chose to help him instead.
Crowel flipped the narrative by using the internet – where Riles had been mercilessly ridiculed – to raise money through crowdfunding to get him safer, more reliable wheels. In the end, over 500 people donated more than $26,000 to support the cause.
Riles drove his old green Chevy truck for the last time into a local Chevy dealer’s parking lot – where he was presented with a much-updated 2019 Chevy Silverado that looked brand new.
What did Crowel write on the GoFundMe page to convince random strangers to help? He said he believed “we can make a real difference in Mo’s life and show what our community is capable of when we come together.” And the community certainly stepped up.
Riles gets emotional when he reflects on the generosity of strangers: “Here (are) human beings seeing another human being struggle,” and doing what they can to help. “But this whole thing is not about me,” he says. “It’s about this community bonding together.”
The students at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia, have been thinking along the same lines for years.
Four to five times per year for nearly a decade, students in the school’s auto-tech program learn their skills by fixing up donated used cars. Then, during a garage ceremony, each car – decked out with a huge red bow – is given to a single mom who greatly needs the ride.
The students meet the mom and learn her story. Knowing who you’re doing it for and how much of a difference it will make in their lives is incredibly rewarding.
As teacher Shane Robertson says: “This is somebody’s real car and [the students are] really making a change in the world.” That means something to them.
One single mom of three kids named Jessica still struggled to get back on her feet after overcoming an addiction problem. Without enough money to buy a car, she relied on a hodge-podge network of friends and family to get to work and the rest of life’s activities.
That is, until she got the gold 2007 Toyota Prius the students fixed up for her. Since getting the car, she’s moved from part-time to full-time employment and is able to run her family’s life much more smoothly now.
“It’s not just about the car, it’s about community,” said Jessica. “Kids who never met me cared about me enough to put hard work into a vehicle to make sure myself and my kids were safe…[it’s] breathtaking.”
Well done, South Bend. Well done, Mineral, Virginia.
In a fraught world, you’ve shown us once again what good can happen when we choose to help instead of condemning someone who finds themselves in a difficult situation – or one that just looks different from our own.
What it looks like to choose compassion over judgment.
(Photo credit GoFundMe/Colin Crowel)
Please share this post and remember – YOU MATTER! Pay attention when others around you are struggling…and try to offer a helpful hand instead of criticism!
