Non-Profit Org US POSTAGE PAID Holland, MI 49423 Permit 30 513 E. 8th Street, Ste 25 Holland, MI 49423 Mobilizing Churches for Community Ministry www.goodsamministries.com September/October 2007 CarLink, Inc. Linking People To the Community www.thinkcarlink.org What’s Inside • Family Focus - Melissa • By the Numbers • Financial Counselor - Ed VanderKooy • FaithWorks Partnership • Community Partner - Maplewood Auto • Financial Counselors • How does CarLink Work? • CarLink History Board Members • Laurie Miedema, President • • Sheri Holstege, Vice-President • • Steve Smallegan, Secretary • • Jayne Venlet, Treasurer • Scott Spoelhof, Past-President Larry Dykhuis Carl Gabrielse Carey Koele • • • • Mari Martin Eileen Nordstrom John Query Kim Tinholt By the Numbers In 2007, CarLink has • Received 21 donated vehicles • Placed 11 vehicles with families • Coordinated over 95 hours of Financial Counseling Financial Counselors Karen Diepenhorst - First Reformed Church Nancy Hardy - Christ Memorial Church Tom Hardy - Christ Memorial Church Ed Hartline - Ridge Point Community Church Elizabeth Krimendahl - Christ Memorial Church Shelley Lynn - Third Reformed Church Amanda Reenders - Mars Hill Bible Church Debra Salguero - Misión de Fé Rick Schreur - Faith Reformed Church Timothy Sluiter - Western Theological Seminary Cindy Stafford - Victory Point Ministries Beth Sterenberg - Maranatha CRC Ed VanderKooy - Christ Memorial Church Kirk Walter - Our Lady of the Lake Shelly Woodall - Ridge Point Community Church Fam - Melissa has lived in Holland her entire life. Growing u way. Instead, she has had her share of heartache. Sh in a happy and stable environment. She knows she is have been there for her. They have helped her get to degree and took her to work when she didn’t have a “It’s been a great experience! I’ve learned things I can take with me the rest of my life.” - Melissa Melissa learned a for help paying h learn how to sav successfully com catch?” She cam nothing to lose. When Melissa w church financial counselor, Ed, she was in debt and d her money. Ed showed her how to get organized an a budget that has a surplus and is paying back her de graduated from CarLink and received a 1999 Oldsmo grateful to be able to drive herself to school and work and sporting events, and to go grocery shopping. Melissa is a great example of a family getting help from Reliable transportation helps Melissa support her famil to “enjoy trips to Timber Town with my son!” Financi -Ed V Ed VanderKooy, 75, is a CarLink mentor from Christ M so that individuals/families can get back on track. He w clients have shared that he does much more than fina and is an encourager. One of his favorite things to say don’t have to make big changes in the beginning just Ed grew up in Illinois learning the building trade from was trained as an electrician but was temporarily assig families on their personal finances. He moved to Holland and went to Hope College, whe worked in the Gaging field until he retired. Througho counseling wherev hours helping othe meeting a lot of ni see them turn thei demonstrated Chr Ed enjoyed workin together and acco complete, Ed cont her efforts. mily Focus -Melissa up, she always wanted an adventurous life - but in a good he struggles financially and is trying to raise her six-year-old son s blessed, though, because she has family and friends who o classes at Baker College where she is working on a Paralegal a car. about CarLink from the Salvation Army when she went there her rent and utility bills. When told that not only would she ve and budget her money, she would also get a car if she mpleted financial counseling, her first thought was, “What’s the me to Good Samaritan to learn more and decided she had was first matched with her didn’t know how to manage nd prioritize. She now uses ebts. On May 10, Melissa obile Cutlass. She is so k, to attend her son’s school m others in the community. ly and even makes it possible ial Counselor VanderKooy Memorial Church. As a mentor, he provides financial counseling works with up to a dozen individuals/families at a time. Many ancial counseling. He is a person who truly cares about them y to the people he works with is, “Take one step at a time. You t so long as you are going in the right direction.” his father. Later, Ed felt the calling to go into the Army. He gned to Army Finance. In this position he counseled enlisted ere he met and married his wife, Mary. After college, he out his professional journey, he has used his gift of financial ver it was needed. Since he retired, he has volunteered many ers. When asked why he does this, he said that he truly enjoys ice people and that it feels good to work with someone and ir lives around. He shares that he grew up in a family who ristian charity and he’s eager to do the same. ng with Melissa. He sees that she really wants to get her life omplish even more. Even though their CarLink counseling is tinues to keep in touch with Melissa to encourage and support FaithWorks Partnership Anna worked for a great company. She was able to care for herself and her children and contribute to her community. When Anna lost her job, all that changed. She wasn’t able to pay the rent and lost her home. That meant that her kids lost their friends as they moved from place to place. To make ends meet, Anna’s family decided only to eat twice a year—Thanksgiving and Christmas. We all know that just doesn’t happen. No one can choose to eat only at the end of the year. We need nourishment, shelter, heat, medical care, and transportation throughout the year. Good Samaritan’s work goes on fifty-two weeks a year, but our funding tends to come in November and December. This is why we are looking for FaithWorks partners - special faithful friends who will stand with us each and every month, making a regular, faithful gift and helping us do Christ’s work in all seasons of the year. We are looking for friends who are willing to donate $25, $50, $100 or $200 or more each month to allow the vital work of helping churches assist those in need continue without faltering. To sign up as a FaithWorks Partner, visit www.goodsamministries.com and click on Donated or call 616.392.7159 ext. 109. Consider becoming a FaithWorks partner. Your gifts supports the Anna’s in our community. CarLink, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Good Samaritan Ministries. How Does CarLink Work? CarLink is a solution for families who do not have personal, reliable transportation. CarLink has three partners - Ottawa County Department of Human Services (DHS) to select families; generous individuals who donate road-worthy vehicles; and Maplewood Auto as a business partner that evaluates and prepares the vehicles for new ownership. Clients are referred to CarLink through DHS. They need to be working a minimum number of hours per week and have children to qualify for the program. After they are referred, they have an assessment done through Good Samaritan Ministries. and are linked with a financial counselor. Financial counseling is customized for each family to help them reach their personal financial goals and to prepare them for vehicle-ownership. On average, families are eligible to receive a vehicle within three months. Each year through this partnership, families are able to meet their own basic needs. Through many hours of counseling, mentoring, and support, these families are able to get to work, school, church and family events reliably and on their own. Community Partner - Maplewood Auto Maplewood Auto, located at 242 E. 26th Street in Holland, has been a significant CarLink partner since the beginning. Originally, they were one of several auto repair shops who agreed to inspect donated vehicles and determine their appropriateness for a family. After restructuring CarLink to allow for purchase of vehicles when needed, CarLink streamlined its relationship with Maplewood Auto. They are now the sole auto repair facility performing inspections and repairs on all donated and placed vehicles. They also allow CarLink to use their dealership lot to show vehicles and arrange for test drives of the vehicles for sale there. CarLink and Good Samaritan Ministries thank Maplewood Auto for their long-standing assistance, support and dedication to helping families in our community. History Back in 1999, the Ottawa County Department of Human Services came to Good Samaritan Ministries seeking a solution to the problems they had been seeing when their clients lacked reliable transportation. Without reliable transportation, people were having to rely on family, friends and public transportation to get to work, school, church, the grocery store, doctor’s visits and other appointments and any other community commitment. CarLink was developed as a way to meet this need. CarLink was incorporated as a subsidiary of Good Samaritan Ministries and obtained a dealership license in order to accept donated vehicles and transfer them to families in need. CarLink received its first vehicle donation in fall of 1999 and placed its first vehicle with a family just a few months later. As CarLink continued to work with families in need, it became obvious that using only donated vehicles for placement was causing a long wait for families who had completed the counseling portion of the program. In 2004, CarLink restructured its program to allow for the purchase of reliable used vehicles to place with families if there were no donated vehicles available that fit their needs. However, giving families donated vehicles remains our priority. CarLink continues to work with the Department of Human Services to link families in need of transportation to vehicles made available through generous donors. Reliable, safe vehicle are always needed. To donate a vehicle go to www.thinkcarlink.org or call 616.392.7159. Tax deductible receipts are provided for fair market value of all donated road-worthy vehicles.