by Katie Patrick
Lincoln is a big small city. We are still a small town—we have small town values, small town culture, and some small town city planning that has made it feel like a very big city for those without a working vehicle.
While Lincoln has a public transportation system and many bike paths, urban sprawl has made traveling from one place in Lincoln to another very time-consuming and difficult. Think of your daily commute and how many times you stop at lights, waiting for traffic to pass, and how many intersections you actually go through just to get from your home to work, or the grocery store, or anywhere you need to go; often not considering multiple trips across town in one single day, because we enjoy the luxury of a car to make these trips more tolerable.
Now imagine you need to get to all those very same places and you have to take the bus, or ride a bike, or walk. How long would that take you? How much earlier would you have to get up in the morning? Could you carry your groceries back home?
For better or worse, Lincoln is a car city. It’s next to impossible to function well without a car. Yet, when families move here as part of a refugee resettlement program, they don’t get to drive to town in their family SUV. Arriving often with only the shirts on their backs, many don’t even have that hypothetical bicycle mentioned above. Yet, they still need to travel to work, to stores, to medical appointments.
One such family arrived in Lincoln from Syria. The Alharfoush family fled a bloody war, bringing their five children, aged 5 to 19, to our city, along with the need for work, food, and school. Because Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska worked with this family from the moment they arrived, we knew their needs and were able to assist in helping provide a vehicle for them.
While this is a life-changing move for the family, rife with new challenges, language barriers, and cultural differences, simply having a vehicle to assist with getting kids to school, to doctor visits, and all those things we may take for granted, is a giant step forward allowing the family to participate in Lincoln life and be productive members of our big small city.
This is just one of many families who were forced to leave their homes and join our communities, assisted by CSS. We provide food, clothing, home goods, furniture—all of which is donated by you, our community.
One thing our donors don’t often think about donating is their cars. Instead of offering in a trade for little to nothing, or selling a car directly when you want to trade up, consider donating your used car to CSS. Vehicle donations are tax deductible, and rather than sitting in the lot of a used car dealership, that car you loved so much for so many years will continue its journey, assisting a new family get where they need to go, provide for themselves, and feel a little more at home in our big little city.
Contact Mike Fitzgerald at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (402) 327-6203 to make your donation today!
