Car Giveaways
After seeing the movie “Pay It Forward“, Glenn was so moved that he adopted it as a core principle in both his business and personal life.
One way he does this is by giving his car to someone in need each time he buys a newer one.
Surprisingly, giving away cars is harder than is sounds.
He has attempted to give away eight since 2003. These are the stories of the six that were successful, and two that weren’t.
A Single Mom Trying to Help Others Gets a Little Help Herself with a Jaguar XJ6
Consuela Baker was a single mom raising a six-year old son by herself. While delivering food to people in her care group at Cornerstone Church in Madison, TN, her car became so unreliable that she had to ask someone to meet her halfway to get the meals delivered. When Glenn donated his Jaguar XJ-6 to Cornerstone’s Pastor Maury Davis and asked him to find someone deserving, he knew Consuela was the one. In this video, you’ll see the assistant pastor actually driving the car into church during services.
Click here to see the live video.
Four Wheels for the Fur Babies
Glenn gave his Chevrolet G1500 to Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter in Corinth, MS.
In an odd twist of fate, he saw the story of a nonprofit in Kentucky that lost an identical vehicle and was desperately trying to raise funds for a replacement. He called and left a message that he’d like to replace the vehicle, but no one returned the call.
Next he called a chamber of commerce in Northeast Texas to inform them one of their members had won, and to coordinate the giveaway. Again, no one returned the call.
Finally, he chose the Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter which promptly returned the call and very excited to receive a free vehicle. Board member Rebecca Burcham picked it up in Nashville and drove it 200 miles to deliver it to Mississippi.
In the first photo, Glenn is presenting the keys to Rebecca in Nashville. In the second photo, the first group of fur babies have just been loaded in Mississippi and are about to be transported to a sister shelter in Pennsylvania, where they have forever homes waiting for them.
The School Crossing Guard People Were Throwing Hot Coffee On
Melanie Clemons of Chattanooga, TN, was the recipient of Glenn’s BMW X-5. The following is an excerpt from the winning nomination, submitted by Cheryl Millsaps at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce:
“Mrs. Mel is the school crossing guard for Battle Elementary, an inner-city zoned magnet school that draws children from the surrounding inner-city neighborhoods and the children of suburban parents who work in downtown Chattanooga. The school sits at one of the busiest intersections on the Southside. Since many of the children live outside the school zone, parents have to provide their own transportation, adding to the traffic congestion at this intersection with four lanes of traffic on both streets. Mrs. Mel cheerfully wades into zipping rush hour traffic to assist parents and grandparents walking kindergartners to 5th graders across this dangerous intersection. I’m horrified to say that as she has had canned drinks and hot coffee thrown at her and has even been clipped by cars deliberately harassing her. Yet she’s there every morning and afternoon, merrily calling out good morning to everyone, recognizing both children and parents by name, giving hugs of encouragement, and sometimes even belting out hymns of gratefulness in a stage-worthy voice. I recently learned that her only vehicle has broken down and she is having to ride the bus or Uber from home, adding at least an hour each way to her commute. Yet she’s there every day, spreading her particular brand of sunshine to these kids, modeling joy, hard work, and gratefulness for every day. She is such a wonderful example to the parents and children of Battle Elementary.”
This Young Newlywed No Longer Has to Walk His Wife to Work at Walmart
Glenn gave his Land Rover to newlyweds Cory and Shaina Keibler in North Myrtle Beach, SC.
Cory’s mom Vicki Keibler worked for the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and submitted his name. He’s unable to drive because of health problems resulting from oxygen deprivation at birth, but Shaina is. He works at Goodwill and she works at Walmart.
Because they had no vehicle, Cory would get up at 5:00 am every morning to walk Shaina to work. Vicki set up the reveal like on the TV show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”, and had it covered live by the local ABC television affiliate. The CEO of Goodwill and Cory’s supervisor were also there for the presentation.
A Single Mom Taking Care of Three Generations of Her Family
Glenn gave away was this GMC Safari minivan to Nancy Westbury, who he found through the staff of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville. She had recently moved to Nashville from Florida to take care of her aging parents. Because her father was wheelchair bound due to amputations from diabetes, she was in need of a larger vehicle.
She was a single mom who already had a daughter to take care of.
But to add to the fray, her daughter was pregnant, putting her in a position no one ever dreams of – taking care of three different generations of her family, all by herself. She was a perfect recipient of this van.
Customer Likes His Mechanic So Much That He Gives Him a Cadillac
Glenn did not intend to give away his Escalade. Unlike previous giveaways where nominations were solicited, this one happened spontaneously. Here’s the story in his own words:
It was a perfect Saturday. I was headed to the Nashville Armory and was driving an exact replica of Tony Soprano’s Escalade. I’d bought it for $7,500 a few years earlier after reading that the one on the show sold for $119,000. It was only intended to be a weekend driver to haul my golf clubs and shotguns in when I go skeet shooting. But I fell in love with that Escalade. They don’t make them like that anymore.
As I wheeled into the parking lot and hit the brakes, the pedal went all the way to the floor. AAA towed it to our mechanic. He has always taken great care of our vehicles but didn’t want to do the repair this time. The brake lines had rusted out, and he said the repair would be too much to spend on the vehicle. He was right. It was time to let go of Tony Soprano’s Escalade and buy a newer one.
I talked to several people who offered a few thousand dollars to buy it as it was, but couldn’t bear the thought of selling it. It wasn’t worth a lot, but it meant so much to me. On a whim, I found a way to let go of something that made me so happy by doing something else that makes me happy – Paying It Forward. I gave it to my mechanic, who replaced the entire brake system over a few weekends and gave it to one of his employees that needed a vehicle. I was still quite sad to give up something I loved so much. But one thing I’ve learned in life is that the surest way to feel better when you’re sad is to do something for someone else.
The Chevrolet That Floated Away in the Nashville Flood
Glenn tried to give this Chevy Express to a woman in Oklahoma.
She was informed of her good fortune in April 2010. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the vehicle added to her insurance policy (which was a requirement before it could be picked up) until May 5th.
But on May 1st of that year, a 500-year flood devastated Nashville.
Glenn’s company was completely destroyed. He lost everything, and the van literally floated away.
The Corvette Glenn’s Lawyer “Stole”
This one created what Dr. Laura would call a moral dilemma. When Glenn wanted to give away this black Corvette LT-1, his attorney was concerned about liability because the car is so powerful. And to be fair, no one really needs a Corvette. To keep his promise to pay it forward each time he buys a newer car, Glenn traded it in on a newer vehicle and donated the retail value of the Corvette at the time directly to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.