NASCAR's Hendrick gives to New England charity

Saturday, Jul. 18, 2009

CONCORD, N.H. -- They won't hit 180 mph and they aren't covered with colorful logos, but cars donated by NASCAR's Rick Hendrick may help 10 needy New England families move into the fast lane.

Hendrick and his Hendrick Automotive Group donated 10 2008 Chevy Impalas and $10,000 to the Good News Garage, a program founded in Montpelier, Vt., in 1996, that now serves all of New England except Maine.

The Lutheran Social Services program is taking applications until Aug. 21 and will award the cars in the fall.

Hendrick, who also owns NASCAR's Hendrick Motorsports, said he was so impressed with the program and its founder, Hal Colston, he's looking into starting a similar program in North and South Carolina.

He learned about the Good News Garage from the Oprah Winfrey Show, which was producing a broadcast about "Heroes in Hard Times."

"We did some more research on the organization and learned about their great work in the New England area," he said. "It was a no-brainer to get involved."

When Winfrey highlighted the program with Colston in May, Hendrick appeared and surprised him with the donation.

"It's obvious that he has a passion for helping people and helping families, and now we're even looking at opportunities to start a similar program down here in the Carolinas," Hendrick said in an e-mail.

People applying for the cars must show they can afford insurance, registration, inspection fees and maintenance and write letters explaining how they would benefit from having a car.

"Families that really need transportation to continue in their jobs, provide day care, transportation and meet other important family and home economic needs; they're the perfect families for us to consider as finalists for these 10 cars," said Executive Director David Kronberg.

Kronberg said the typical family that gets a car is a single mom with two children.

"Getting a car helps them get a job, helps them be able to pay for day care, helps them get to day care, helps them build their assets and their independence," Kronberg said.

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