The Cars 4 Causes Blog.

When the economy went into a dive last year, Brenda’s family finances hit the skids, too. She’s a feisty woman and not easily defeated. She had struggled through emotional and financial crises when serious childhood illnesses threatened both her daughter and younger son. And all survived.

Car donation recipient Brenda with Sister Mary

She lost her husband to cancer last year, though, and even while mourning her loss, still needed to get herself to the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles for treatments for her own serious medical condition – a 60-plus-mile drive. Still, she was “OK,” she said. She was managing, even as the downturn in the economy slashed the value of her late husbands’ life insurance benefits.

Then the car began to give out.

In poor condition, it couldn’t be counted on to get her to UCLA. And, frankly, it wasn’t reliable in and around town either.

Abbess Victoria of the St. Barbara Monastery in Santa Paula, Calif. asked Cars 4 Causes if we could help. We could, and we did. That’s Brenda in the photo with Sister Mary of the St. Barbara Monastery.

Their smiles are genuine. The car was donated to Brenda and her family. Make a car donation today! Your donation will support people who need your help.

I met Sister Mary when she came to Cars 4 Causes® corporate offices to make a donation of two vehicles that were at the St. Barbara Monastery. In addition to the vehicle donations she was making, Sister Mary was also discussing the need for additional housing for the Sisters at St. Barbara. The monastery, which is strictly for women, was founded in 1992, and was then located in Santa Barbara.

The community of twelve Sisters moved to their current location in Santa Paula in 2005, and once there, ran into some snags with their housing plans. The Sisters needed places to stay until their building issues could be resolved. In the meantime, they are living in various trailers situated on the grounds of St. Barbara’s Monastery.

Cars 4 Causes® had a trailer that was perfect for their needs. We delivered the 27 foot 1986 Century Travel Trailer to St. Barbara’s last week, to the delight of Sister Mary. You can view the video of the trailer donation and Sister Mary’s sincere thank you to Cars 4 Causes®.