Success Stories
Megal left the United States Army as a field artillery crew member after serving a tour in Afghanistan and a tour in Iraq. Initially, Megal moved to Colorado to be with his family. Since his car had broken down, he left it in Colorado and moved to Atlanta to support his wife and two boys while working at a manufacturing plant. He and his wife shared a vehicle until the plant closed, his wife left for Florida with the car and he was homeless. Though it took a while, Megal made it to Florida to be the Dad his children needed.
With good timing Metropolitan Ministries referred D.A., an employee, to Wheels after she found herself caring for her ailing parents and four children without a car. Despite not having a car, D.A. walked, used the bus and took cabs as necessary to ensure that her loved ones were cared for.
Mohammed is a veteran who was in desperate need of a vehicle to drive back and forth from Tampa to Lakeland for work and to take his wife to her doctor's appointments to monitor her highrisk pregnancy. Having to borrow a family member's car was becoming burdensome so he needed reliable transportation of his own.
Wheels of Success won WEDU's 2016 Be More Brilliant AT&T Innovation Award on February 4, 2016 for its ABCGTE Financial 0% Interest Financing program. The award, sponsored by AT&T, focuses on initiatives, projects and services that are unique, creative or innovative.
The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Nicole Marchman as the 31st Lightning Community Hero of the 2015-16 season during the first period of the Winnipeg Jets game. Marchman, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program donated the money to Wheels of Success.
After Soadie had a beautiful baby girl, she needed to get back to work. She found herself without transportation when her 2002 Nissan Altima's engine started knocking. A three-hour ride to work on the bus or by catching rides wasn't practicable with a new baby. Wheels of Success worked with the Success 4 Kids & Families Healthy Start Program to replace Soadie's engine at a reduced cost to her. The now reliable Altima has given Soadie more time to spend with her daughter, allowed her to earn a $3 raise and promotion to manager, and has given her the ability to take her daughter to the pediatrician without worrying about having to take the entire day off of work. Congratulations, Soadie!
Returning from the war in Iraq, Jamela found it hard to adjust to civilian life in the USA without a car. She struggled to get to work, eat healthy and stay connected to her family. On the verge of homelessness, she was referred to Wheels of Success by another veteran recipient.
Falana was referred to Wheels of Success by a Pinellas County official, the result of a phone call she made to ask for help to get a car. As a young adult who had been in THIRTY-SIX foster homes by the time she was eighteen, she had learned from an early age that you have to speak up and ask for what you need.
When Joseph was promoted to Kitchen Restaurant Department Manager (RDM) over a year ago his supervisor made it very clear that in order to keep this position, Joseph would need to get a car. The vehicle he received from Wheels of Success on Labor Day not only helped Joseph keep his promotion, but he also received a raise and moved to a restaurant cloer to his home. Having extra time is a big deal for someone who often opted to walk 1.5 to 2 hours to work because unreliable transportation made him late numerous times.
Huge congratulations to Anthony who is now a registered state and national EMT!! Anthony credits his ability to complete his training for becoming an emergency medical technician to having reliable transportation. Prior to receving his vehicle, Anthony was not sure he could successfully complete the program due to the strict punctuality guidelines for class that are not achievable with public transportation.