Car Donation Stories
Has your car been anywhere special? Has anything unusual happened to it? We want to hear the story behind your car! Be sure to include the year, make and model of your vehicle, a photo, when you donated it to the National Kidney Foundation, and, of course, YOUR STORY!
World War II Veteran Breathes New Life Into Old Cadillac
Saying goodbye to a beloved automobile is never easy. But for an eighty-eight-year-old man who is trying to face the reality of never driving again, watching your car being towed off is akin to watching the last vestige of your youth disappear. Unless of course, the car is carted away for the purpose of becoming a Kidney Car.
Vince Perry, Sr., had always been a hard-working and independent man. He served his country in World War II, and worked hard to provide for his family all his life. After a small fender bender this past summer, he realized that driving a car was just not in the cards anymore.
Vince consulted his family about the car’s final resting place. “To him, the car was a national treasure and so he wanted to pass it on to me,� said his son, Vince, Jr. “I told him that we needed to find a way for the car that had given him so many good years to continue down that road. I suggested the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Car Program, and he quizzed me on the Foundation, its goals and what they would do with his Caddy. We all kind of came to the happy conclusion that even though getting rid of the car signaled the end of an era, knowing that it was going to help someone with kidney disease made the experience a lot more tolerable.�
On the day of the pick-up, the towing company stopped in front of the house so that Vince could take one last look at his prized possession. “This donation meant so much to Dad, because he was able to stop driving on his own while still in possession of a valid driver’s license, and to top it off, his Caddy made a difference in someone’s life,� Vince, Jr., said. “I have never been more proud of my dad. The guy may have lost his Cadillac, but not his class!�
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