Shannon Valdez, owner of Central Collision Center in Salt Lake Valley, is in the business of repairing cars. But this year she did something different — she repaired lives.
Shannon has seen countless cars come through her shop that could've been repaired, but the insurance companies declared them totaled because the repairs weren't deemed cost-effective. For years, she wanted to do something more than watch them go to the salvage yard to rust with the clunkers. Why not fix up one of those cars and give it to someone who needs it, she wondered.
She began hunting for a good car last March and found one — a 2007 Chevrolet Impala that had been struck in the side by another car — and then looked for help. She asked Bear River Insurance to donate the salvaged car. She called Hillside Tire in Sandy, and it offered her a free set of new tires. She called Akzo Nobel for paint and McKees for glass, and on and on it went. Larry H. Miller Chevrolet, Keystone, LKQ, Price Towing, Airbag Services — they all wanted to help. Shannon paid her technicians to fix the car.
It takes a village to raise a car.
Everyone was swept up in the project. An anonymous Bear River employee donated six months of car insurance.
All they needed was someone who needed a car, and for that Shannon turned to Catholic Community Services. The agency began interviewing candidates without telling them what it was about.
"They thought it was a survey," says Shannon. "We didn't want someone who was looking for a handout."
In the end, they selected a young woman named Nelda Mangum, although she didn't know it at the time. At 25, she already has a head start on collecting life challenges. Her husband suffers from Crohn's disease. During the bad spells, he becomes so sick that he is unable to work and makes frequent visits to the doctor. A commercial painter, he struggles to hold a job because of his health.
Then there is their 2-year-old daughter, the youngest of four children. She suffers from undiagnosed health problems that cause, among other things, seizures. She usually has at least one or two doctor appointments daily.
It's a full-time job just driving to the various doctors' offices, or it is when they have a car.
As fate would have it, their only car broke down, and they can't afford the $800 to repair it. Nelda's 77-year-old grandmother volunteered for chauffeur duties. She rose at 4 a.m. to drive her son-in-law to work, then drove her grandchildren to school and spent the rest of day shuttling them to doctors and physical therapists. Sometimes they had to cancel medical appointments simply because they didn't have enough transportation to meet all their needs.
"Sometimes by the time my grandma got home, it would be 9:30 at night," says Nelda. "It's been hard."
Last month Nelda and her family were convinced, under false pretenses, to attend Bear River's 100th-anniversary celebration. Bear River executives made their speeches and unveiled a statue to commemorate the event. "I wondered, 'Why am I here?' " recalls Nelda. After presenting the Mangums with stuffed bears and a car seat, Don Adams, president of the insurance company, said, "What good is a car seat without a car?"
Shannon pulled up in the Impala and presented the keys to Nelda, who curled into her husband and cried.
"I almost had a heart attack," says Nelda. "I had no idea. It was pretty exciting. Things are a little easier now."
Looking back on the five-month project, Shannon says, "It turned into something amazing. I want to do this every year if we can."
She didn't wait for an opportunity to help to come to her attention through luck or fate; she actively searched for that opportunity.
"If you can give back, do it," she says. "There are a lot of people who are in unfortunate situations. They want to stand on their own feet; they just can't because of circumstances beyond their control. They just need a little help to get going again."
Doug Robinson's column runs on Tuesdays. Please send e-mail to drob@desnews.com.