Providence, RI -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/07/2011 -- Good News Garage, a program of Lutheran Social Services, has received its 100th vehicle donated by Rhode Island residents. The vehicle marks a milestone for Good News Garage, which officially launched operations in the Ocean State in November 2009. The 100th vehicle is significant: positive proof that the residents of Rhode Island believe in the potential of Good News Garage to truly impact the lives of its residents who struggle to earn a living due to the lack of transportation.

Good News Garage accepts and repairs donated vehicles, then awards the vehicles to families striving to become financially self-sufficient. Clients use the vehicles to commute to and from work, drive their children to childcare and extracurricular activities, and access medical care, affordable housing and more. Since 1996, Good News Garage has matched more than 3,800 donated vehicles with low-income families. Good News Garage serves residents in all six New England states.

The mission of Good News Garage is to provide safe and reliable transportation options for people in need. Pastor Dana Reardon of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Warwick, is familiar with, and a strong supporter of, this life-changing mission, She was instrumental in bringing Good News Garage to Rhode Island. Pastor Reardon has worked tirelessly to make the donated wheels program available to Rhode Island residents.

"I was convinced Rhode Island needed Good News Garage and was determined to bring the program here. Transportation is not a luxury, but a true necessity in Rhode Island. Without reliable transportation, getting to and from work and providing for a family, can be nearly impossible. The 100th donated car just proves that, like me, there are many others who believe in the good work of Good News Garage."

Good News Garage celebrates its 15th birthday this fall. An open house birthday party will be held on Wednesday, October 12t from 4pm-6pm at All Saints Memorial Church in Providence (674 Westminster Street). The event will be a two-fold celebration of Good News Garage at 15and Lutheran Social Services at 140 years of serving and caring for people in need. The event is open to the public and all are welcome.

Good News Garage is currently accepting applications from Rhode Island residents interested in obtaining a vehicle. For information, contact Kristin Beck at 860.218.2970, extension 4#.

To learn more about Good News Garage or to donate a car, visit http://www.GoodNewsGarage.org, call toll-free 877.GIVE.AUTO (877.338.4288), or connect with Good News Garage on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Burlington, VT -- (SBWIRE) --06/02/2011 -- Michael Muzzy of Shelburne, Vt., has been named director of operations for Good News Garage (GNG), a New England-wide program of Lutheran Social Services that was one of the nation's first car donation charities.

Bill Ames, executive vice president of operations for Lutheran Social Services, made the announcement. "Michael Muzzy brings his considerable experience at GNG in Vermont to the entire New England-wide organization," he said. "Michael has been a big part of the success of GNG over past years. I look forward to working with Michael in this capacity as he has the vision and respect of his colleagues to move the entire organization forward."

Muzzy first came to GNG in 1998 as a garage technician. In the spring of 2000, Muzzy was promoted to program manager and began work on an opportunity to explore new services, including rides to employment for low-income Vermonters, a program that became Ready To Go (RTG), which today provides more than 35,000 rides annually to Vermonters who cannot afford a car. In 2007 Muzzy was promoted to Vermont program manager.

GNG was established in 1996 in Burlington, Vt., and has since grown into all six New England states. GNG has awarded more than 3,800 refurbished vehicles to low-income families throughout New England. GNG has received national recognition, including an appearances on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and in People Magazine, Reader's Digest and Smithsonian Magazine.

For more information about Good News Garage or to donate a car, visit www.GoodNewsGarage.org, or call toll-free, 877.GIVE.AUTO (448.3288). You can also follow GNG at facebook.com/goodnewsgarage and twitter.com/goodnewsgarage.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Wellesely, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/14/2010 -- Good News Garage (GNG), a program of Lutheran Social Services (LSS), recently awarded a 2008 Chevy Impala to 10 New England families. The gift of the 10 vehicles was made possible by Rick Hendrick of NASCAR fame, owner of Hendrickcars.com, who presented the vehicles to Good News Garage on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last May. The presentation occurred during a segment featuring the Lutheran agency's car donation program and its founding director, Hal Colston.

The process of selecting the Impala recipients began in June 2009 and culminated with the presentation of the cars to the ecstatic families just in time for the Christmas season. Hundreds of applications were received from deserving families across New England. Each state assembled a selection committee comprised of prominent community members and friends of LSS to review the applications and make their decisions based on need, budget, family situation and other criteria.

The 10 recipients come from five New England states (Maine being the exception) and a variety of backgrounds and challenging circumstances. The one thing the 10 families have in common is their struggle to provide for their families, a problem exacerbated by their lack of affordable and reliable transportation. The recipients will use this gift of wheels to access employment, get their children to daycare, medical appointments and a range of educational, social, cultural and recreational activities and opportunities.

Meet the deserving families who received 2008 Chevy Impalas from LSS Good News Garage:

Traci and Paul of Vermont have two school-aged children. Last year Paul was diagnosed with cancer making him unable to work. His inability to work led to the unfortunate loss of their construction business, home and family car. Traci is now employed at Pizzagalli Construction. The family will use the car to get to work, school and medical appointments.

Kate of Vermont is a single mother of two boys, aged 5 years and 1 year. She works full-time for Express and part-time for Price Chopper. She has earned an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice and is pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Forensic Psychology. The vehicle will help Kate care for her two young children, get to work and continue her education.

Nancy of New Hampshire is the mother of three. In addition, she has guardianship of her two-year old grandson. Nancy works full-time at Dunkin Donuts and does not own a working vehicle. She walks to and from work; however daycare is over 10 miles away. She writes: "Without a car to get my grandson to daycare, I will lose my daycare spot. Without daycare I will lose my job."

Kim of Portsmouth, New Hampshire is the single mother of a 14 year-old son with severe autism and cerebral palsy. Her son resides in a care facility in Tilton and she drives back and forth on weekends to bring him home. Her 1999 Ford Taurus required significant repairs and had become too costly to maintain. Kim works full-time for a nonprofit agency, transporting clients. She hopes to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing.

Lacey and Angel of Connecticut have four school-aged children. The family had fallen on difficult economic times when Angel, the primary wage earner for the family of six, was diagnosed with a chronic illness, at times impacting his ability to work. To help secure a more stable financial future for the family, Lacey is now going to school to become a surgical technician. The family is looking forward to once again becoming involved in community and school activities.

Tangie of Connecticut is a single mother of two boys, ages 8 years and 3 months. She is employed full-time as a retention specialist, where she works with state and federal ex-offenders working to get back on their feet. Tangie's job requires her to travel to visit clients located at multiple sites, which is a challenge without safe and reliable transportation.

Janette of Rhode Island works full-time as a discrimination investigator for Providence Human Relations as well as in the evenings as a housing advocate, where she assists homeless single-parent families to move into permanent subsidized housing. Janette, the single mother of a college-aged daughter has sacrificed car ownership in order to pay her daughter's. Janette frequently utilizes public transportation to commute to work, which is often inconvenient given her many commitments and evening job.

Tony of Massachusetts, along with his wife have three young children ages five, three and six months. He is employed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Lacking a family vehicle was a hardship on Tony and his family. In addition to relying on both a bus and train to get to work, the family often borrowed their pastor's vehicle on weekends to get to the market for groceries. In addition to using the vehicle to commute to work, Tony will use the Impala to get to Newbury College where he is enrolled as a student in the School of Business and Management.

Khem and Tika arrived in Vermont from Bhutan where they lived for many years in a refugee camp. They work as interpreters contracted by various community organizations. Until receiving the 2008 Chevrolet Impala both had to rely on public transportation which limited the amount of work they could take. Khem and Tika are clients of NeighborKeepers, Hal Colston's newest nonprofit endeavor. In keeping with NeighborKeepers' practices they have signed a reciprocity agreement to give back 170 hours to the NeighborKeepers community over the next two years by providing rides to other community members, helping to prepare community dinners, and providing interpreting services at our Tuesday night Community Leadership Meeting when needed.

Annie of Vermont has served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for two years. Her first year was at the Burlington TimeBank and the second year her time was split between being the Community Economic Development Office VISTA Team Leader and serving at NeighborKeepers as the Volunteer Coordinator. Anne is now the program coordinator for NeighborKeepers. She will be using this car to provide transportation for members of NeighborKeepers who do not have a car and wish to attend their supportive dinners.

Good News Garage accepts, repairs and awards donated vehicles to families in need. Since 1996, Good News Garage has awarded more than 3,300 vehicles to families throughout New England.

For more information about Good News Garage or to donate a vehicle, please visit http://www.GoodNewsGarage.org or call 1.877.GIVE AUTO (448.3288).

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

On May 19th, Good News Garage was presented with a gift of ten 2008 Chevy Impalas from Hendrickcars.com on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Wellesley, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/17/2009 -- Good News Garage will award these cars to deserving New England families who can document both their financial need and their ability to maintain the donated car.

Good News Garage, a program of Lutheran Social Services, is seeking to identify 10 New England families who are striving to become self-supporting despite significant life obstacles. "This is a demonstration by both the Hendrick and Winfrey organizations of their support for the mission of Good News Garage: to provide safe, reliable and affordable transportation options to people in need," states Executive Director David Kronberg. "Good News Garage will award these cars to families who would truly benefit from a transportation jumpstart."

Good News Garage invites residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont to apply, if they feel that their lives would be changed by receiving a 2008 Chevy Impala. Application forms are available online at www.GoodNewsGarage.org or by contacting one of the Good News Garage state offices:

Connecticut: gngct@goodnewsgarage.org or call 860.218.2970
Massachusetts: dkronberg@goodnewsgarage.org or 781.997.0866
New Hampshire: sswain@goodnewsgarage.org or call 877.400.6065
Rhode Island: gngri@goodnewsgarage.org or 401.737.6758
Vermont: cars@goodnewsgarage.org or 877.448.3288

Applications must be received or postmarked Friday, August 21, 2009. In addition to the completed application, each submission must include the following: 1) copy of the applicant's driver's license; 2) copy of a recent pay stub (multiple stubs if there is more than one employer); 3) letter in the applicant's own words stating the need for a car. In addition, Good News Garage strongly encourages, but does not require, a letter of support from a community civic leader, clergy person, caseworker, or other non-relative.

Good News Garage will award the vehicles later this year.

Each vehicle recipient must be financially able and committed to cover the costs of auto insurance, DMV/RMV registration fees, sales tax and/or, state inspection fees and excise taxes, maintenance and fuel.

Unlike the majority of car donation programs, Good News Garage repairs and provides as many donated vehicles as possible to deserving individuals. Since 1996, Good News Garage has awarded more than 3,200 vehicles throughout New England.

To learn more about Good News Garage, or to donate a car, van or truck visit http://www.GoodNewsGarage.org or call toll-free: 877.GIVE.AUTO (448.3288).

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm