The monthly car payments go into that fund, and the money is used for things like no-interest loans for car repairs and detailing cars that are donated. Since officially kicking off the program in May, three vehicles have been donated by Orange County residents and transferred to residents in the county, and a fourth vehicle came through on Friday, Mathews said. He described the first three car owners as single, working mothers with children. Two of them had never had driver s licenses before, so Mathews helped them go through the Division of Motor Vehicles process. After being hired last fall, Mathews spent his first few months setting up a partnership with the Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers program in Durham.
Donors can therefore get a tax deduction.
It gave us the opportunity to build the program right. All vehicles donated by Orange County residents will come back to the county. But Mathews said the Wheels for Work program is accepting only road-worthy vehicles with current inspections, since the program doesn t yet have the finances to cover major repairs. Going into its second month, the program has a short waiting list of residents who are working on the initial paperwork with Mathews. Wheels for Work has come out of an initiative by the county s Commission for Women.