Mary Kemnitz, Author at Car 2nd Chance

Why should you donate your Car?

What does hope look like? Sometimes hope looks just like a donated car: a candle in the dark.

There are so many reasons to donate a car to charity. From tax breaks to finding a way to get that junker finally out of your driveway, the list could never end. While this can absolutely serve as your driving force for making the call, it’s good to know WHY it matters to the folks on the receiving end. From programs that help single parents to get to the point of self-sufficiency to ones that continue to support the victims of the Paradise fire, it all matters.

YOU can make a huge difference in the lives of a family struggling to get by, or someone who lost their vehicle in the deadliest wildfire in over a century, not to mention the overarching organizations that devote their existence to making the world a better place. Every donated car contributes to bettering lives.

Imagine barely escaping with your life as a wildfire tore through your community. You and your family were able to load up your truck with all your pets, some of your favorite clothes, and a few prized possessions. You thought you’d be able to get back in later because this had to be just another close call like the ones that had come before. You left your husband’s and daughter’s cars behind because you wanted to keep the family together, just in case.

As you were driving away, you started to see how close the fire was coming to your neighborhood. The smoke was getting darker and closer. You were sure you could feel the heat as the fire was racing towards you.

You started worrying about your neighbors who weren’t yet leaving. You started worrying about the things you left behind. You asked your husband if you should go back for more. He told you to focus on the road ahead. “Things are just things.” He said.

You held onto the belief that the fire would miss your home and you’d be able to return. Once you made it to your friend’s house in the town far enough away, you started listening to the radio. You kept waiting to hear it was okay to go back. In fact, you’d heard that the winds had shifted, and your specific street had even been mentioned as being safe for now. “Whew.” You released a huge sigh of relief and drifted into a restless sleep.

Morning came, and at the first ray of sun, you sat up bolt right. You felt uneasy. You were exhausted. You quickly turned on the tv and kept it low as not to wake anyone else. Then you saw it. Your neighborhood. Barely distinguishable but for the surrounding area behind your home. The winds had shifted. No words would come, but tears streamed freely down your cheeks. Everything. Everything was gone. Only gratitude for the entire family getting out alive was left.

To help with anonymity, this is a fictionalized story, based on what actual survivors shared about their experiences. So many stories similar to this one came from the Paradise fire. So many losses that included innumerable vehicles.

How will families all get around now with only one car to share if any? Many are now living out of the area, but they still have to commute to work. If you donate a car to the cause, one more family will be positively impacted by your generosity in a way that hopefully, you will never have to comprehend fully. Stories like this one are the number one reason to donate a car to charity.

While some donated cars are great for restoration with the capacity to pass along to a person who could greatly benefit from having a working vehicle, other vehicles need to be sold for parts, and that’s how those donated vehicles can help many different charities too. When you make the decision to donate your car to charity, it can have a significant impact! Never diminish the effect of what donating your vehicle can give to another human being. It’s not even the most obvious or tangible. What you are offering is hope.

If you’d like to donate your car to help someone recover from the Paradise fire or another valued non-profit, reach out to cars2ndchance@gmail.com to donate a car that runs and Cars2ndChance@gmail.com to donate a vehicle that does not. Check out their respective websites https://cars2ndchance.org/. The organization has received 30 cars for the Paradise survivors, but they need more, as you can well imagine.

Automotive Service Council’s Educational Foundation – New 50/50 Partner

Cars2ndChance, a vehicle donation program operated through the Concord / Clayton Valley Sunrise Rotary chapter is pleased to welcome the Automotive Service Council’s Educational Foundation (ASCEF) as a new 50/50 Partner. Every time a vehicle is donated and ASCEF is selected on our donation form, 50% of the proceeds will go to this local Bay Area non-profit.

The Automotive Service Council’s Educational Foundation is an organization that provides educational and training opportunities, scholarships and endowments in the field of automotive repair and maintenance.

Through the incredible generosity of our donors, ASCEF has been changing the lives of hundreds of students wanting to pursue a career in the automotive field. The funds raised provide scholarships and support sustainable training programs throughout California.

Visit their website to learn more.

Oakland RiteCare Childhood Language Center – New 50/50 Partner

Cars2ndChance, a vehicle donation program operated through the Concord / Clayton Valley Sunrise Rotary chapter is pleased to welcome the Oakland RiteCare Childhood Language Center as a new 50/50 Partner. Every time a vehicle is donated and Oakland RiteCare Childhood Language Center is selected on our donation form, 50% of the proceeds will go to this local Bay Area non-profit.

The Oakland RiteCare Childhood Language Center is a non-profit language and learning center that provides both neuroplasticity-based reading interventions and traditional speech and language therapy.

Their educational and speech-language therapists have provided free services to preschool through high school aged children and adolescents since 1984.

The Center is a philanthropy of the Scottish Rite, a concordant body of the Freemasons, one of 170 Rite Care Centers across the U.S. We are located at Lake Merritt near downtown Oakland.

Visit their website to learn more.

Riding A Successful 2016 | Donate That Car

Tax Write Off & Giving Tuesday Spirit Through December

2016 has been a banner year for local and international giving through Cars2ndChance. We have been immensely proud to serve the Concord, San Ramon, Clayton, Lamorinda and entire Bay Area and beyond (!) for 18 years. Cars2ndChance and Concord/Clayton Sunrise Rotary Club have been providing valuable tax credits when vehicles are donated, running or not. A quick click to our Donation page or phone call to 925-326-5868 before 12/31/16 can yield big benefits — perhaps even pay for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping you and I did!

Our service includes additional benefits including the option of selecting one of many community non-profit organizations that receive 50% of all sale or sale-for-parts. See the list of non-profits supported.

Have a question? Our FAQ may have the answer. If not, please give us a call — we would be happy to help.

We’re often asked, why Cars2ndChance and not another worthwhile organization that accepts vehicle donations?

First, check with the organization to determine how much every dollar goes to overhead. Cars2ndChance overhead is very small — also Cars2ndChance Concord has been extremely successful and is a large, well-supported program started by D&H Enterprises, Concord for the Sunrise Clayton Valley / Concord Rotary Club. The spirit of Giving Tuesday continues on into December — your support makes a difference in your community and in the world!

Donation to the First Presbyterian Church of Concord

One of our 50/50 Community Partners, The First Presbyterian Church of Concord (FPCC) received a check for $596, thanks to a car donation by one of their members.

Clayton Worsdell, the President of the Rotary Club of Clayton Valley/Concord Sunrise, and a member of FPCC, presented the check to Pastor Toby Nelson, along with Financial Committee Chair David Stearns, and Mario from D&H Enterprises, the Concord auto repair shop that founded and supports Cars2ndChance.

One of the Bay Area charitable organizations that FPCC helps provide support is the Bay Area Rescue Mission. They provide many services, like providing a hot meal for the homeless and poor, providing drug and alcohol rehabilitation for men, and transitional housing for families and women with children. They reach out to their community in a variety of ways and have recently developed an extensive ministry with children who live in the area.

Our partner: First Presbyterian Church of Concord

We are proud to be partners with the First Presbyterian Church of Concord, who has given so much to our community and continues to look for new ways and new means to help our community and beyond. The First Presbyterian Church Concord is located in downtown Concord near Todos Santos Plaza.

FPCC was the first Protestant church in Concord, founded on October 14, 1882. The years have seen many changes to both Concord and FPCC. During this time FPCC has met in 5 different buildings, and while other churches have moved further out and new churches have been founded in the community, FPCC has remained one of the few downtown churches in Concord.

FPCC helps provide support to the following organizations in order to reach out to our community:

> Young Life – An international Christian youth organization whose primary focus is to reach out to young people who are not part of a local church. Young Life in the Diablo Valley has Young Life Clubs at several high schools and middle schools, but our primary focus is in Concord.

> Contra Costa Interfaith Council – The Interfaith Council provides Chaplains at the various youth detention facilities in Contra Costa County. We contribute towards this valuable service.

> Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana in Oakland / Premere Iglesia Concord Ministry – This small, but growing Spanish-speaking congregation in Oakland is reaching out to it’s neighbors. We are pleased with the opportunity to share with them.

> Bay Area Rescue Mission – This rescue mission has been in operation for many years in the Richmond area and now their outreach encompasses much of the Bay Area under the leadership of Directors John and Debra Anderson. They provide many services, like providing a hot meal for the homeless and poor, providing drug and alcohol rehabilitation for men, and transitional housing for families and women with children. They reach out to their community in a variety of ways and have recently developed an extensive ministry with children who live in the area.

There are many other missions FPCC is involved, as you can read here. Their continuous work of doing charity without expecting anything in return is what makes us so proud to be their partner. Join us!

The 11 oldest cars in the world

Do you get all giddy thinking about how your “classic” automobile is still tooling around the highways under its own power? Well, if you want to be really impressed, take a gander at these cars that are still running – all of which are at least 100 years old!

La Marquise is the world’s oldest running automobile, as of 2011. It is an 1884 model made by Frenchmen De Dion, Bouton and Trépardoux. The car was a quadricycle prototype named for de Dion’s mother. Powered by paper, wood and coal, it can cover 20 miles on a tank of water with a maximum speed of 38mph. But it takes 45 minutes to get steamed up.
Britain’s oldest car is a two-seater Wolseley 6 built in 1904. The car, which is now 110 years old, ‘runs like a dream’, according to owner Brian Caseley, and has never broken down – a stroke of luck, really, since it was built before the AA had even been established. The car has a top speed of 29mph, but no one knows its mileage since it was built before milometers were installed in British cars.
The 1896 Roberts Electric is the world’s oldest running electric car. In 1896, its creator, Charles Roberts, had his friend, the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, build him a stable. The horses Roberts housed there soon had company; a carriage with nowhere to hook the whiffletree, no provision on the tall Stanhope for traces or shafts, and no iron on the dash to support the reins. Yet it moved.
The 1898 Stanley Steamer. This was the nickname for the vehicles produced by the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, the top-selling automaker in the two years before the turn of the century. Actually, these steam-engine cars had another moniker: the Flying Teapots.
The 1904 Rolls Royce. This 10 horsepower two-seater was sold at auction a few years ago for a whopping $7.275 million. That was not only the highest price ever paid for a Rolls, but the sale also earned this vehicle the distinction of being the most expensive car ever purchased over the phone.
The 1893 Benz Victoria. One of the Victoria’s brethren undertook the first long-distance “road trip” in motoring history. Theodor von Liebieg was the driver on that historic journey, and he probably pushed the Benz to its top speed of 12 miles per hour while on the open road.
The Circa 1895 Panhard et Levassor. This car was made by a French company, which today limits its product line to light tactical and military vehicles. But the manufacturer holds the distinction of being responsible for various automotive innovations, including a modern transmission, a front-mounted radiator, and a clutch pedal connected to a chain-driven gearbox.
The 1896 Lutzman Victoria. Automaker Frederich Lutzman followed in the footsteps of his fellow German countrymen, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. In fact, Lutzman produced some of the first cars ever to be imported into Britain.
The 1896 Steam-Powered Salvesen. This vehicle never went into production, but was instead used to toodle around the Salvesen family estate in Scotland. The cart not only required a steersman in the front, but also a boilerman-stoker in the back to operate the rear-mounted coil-fired boiler.
The 1897 Delahaye Limousine. The Delahaye brand was best known for making roadsters and Jeep-like vehicles in the first half of the 20th century. But this belt-driven limousine was one of the first autos made by founder Emile Delahaye in Tours, France.
The 1898 Benz Dogcart. You could call this the first “green” car in history. This “dogcart” was the first to be fitted with a electric self-start dynamotor, which helped it climb hills more efficiently.

20 questions you should know about the 4th of July!

Across America, millions of people are celebrating this holiday. And they should, it’s a historical day for the United States. But what do you really know about this great holiday? Test your knowledge:

1.Was July 4th the date Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence? No: Initially adopted by Congress on July 2, 1776, the revised version of the Declaration of Independence was not adopted until two days later.

2. What’s he oldest, continuous Independence Day celebration in the United States? The 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island; it began in 1785.

3. Who signed The Declaration of Independence? It was penned by Thomas Jefferson and signed by 56 men representing 13 colonies.

4. Who first sang Yankee Doodle? One of the United States’ patriotic songs, “Yankee Doodle” was originally sung by British military officers prior to the Revolution as a means to mock the disorganized American colonists who fought alongside them during the French and Indian Wars.

5. Were there any countries who followed our example? France, Greece, Poland, Russia and several countries in South America used the Declaration of Independence as a beacon in their own struggles for freedom.

6. Who wrote the official national anthem? The “Star Spangled Banner” was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 and not decreed the official national anthem of the United States until 1931.

7. How many Presidents dies on the 4th of July? Three U.S. Presidents, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, died on July 4th; Adams and Jefferson died within hours of each other in 1826 while Monroe died in 1831.

8. How many people lived in the United States on July 4th 1776? In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was 2.5 million. According to the U.S. and World Population Clock, the nation’s estimated population in July 2013 will be 316.2 million.

9. Which newspaper printed the Declaration of Independence first? The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence.

10. What othe countries celebrate the 4th of July? Both the Philippines and Rwanda celebrate July 4th as a day of liberation. In Southeast Asia, it is known as “Republic Day” and Rwandans celebrate “Liberation Day.”

11. Which President was born on the 4th of July? The country’s 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was born on Independence Day in 1872.

12. How many hot dogs are consumed on the 4th of July? Americans consume about 155 million hot dogs on Independence Day alone; it is the biggest hot dog holiday of the year.

13. When was the 4th of July considered a holiday? In 1870 Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday; in 1938, it was changed to a paid federal holiday.

14. When did Americans really start celebrating the 4th of July? Americans began observing the Fourth of July as early as 1777, when the first-ever major celebration in Philadelphia included a parade and a thirteen-shot cannon salute and fireworks.

15. How many times is the Liberty bell tapped on the 4th of July? To avoid cracking it, the Liberty Bell has not been rung since 1846. To mark the quintessential day, every fourth of July it is symbolically tapped 13 times.

16. Who decided the bald eagle should be the national bird? John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are responsible for the bald eagle as the national bird; Benjamin Franklin wanted it to be the turkey.

17. How many of the 56 signers were Brittish? Eight of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in Britain.

18. How many firework displays take place on the 4th of July? The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) estimates that more than 14,000 professional firework displays light up the skies in the United States each 4th of July.

19. Where were casted the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty? Two of our nation’s great national symbols were made overseas. The Liberty Bell was cast in England, and the Statue of Liberty in France.

20. What was the average age of the Signers? The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest at age 70, and Edward Rutledge was the youngest at age 26.

Polio: we’re almost there, but not yet.

They say the last 100 yards are the hardest and they are right. Polio has been eradicated for several years in almost all the countries in the word, but there are still a few more battles to win before we can call it a complete victory.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease that still threatens children in some parts of the world. The poliovirus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. It can strike at any age but mainly affects children under five. Polio is incurable, but completely vaccine-preventable.

Rotary, along with our partners, has reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent worldwide since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. We are close to eradicating polio, but we need your help. Whether you have a few minutes or a few hours, here are some ways to make a global impact and protect children against polio forever.

In 1985, Rotary launched its PolioPlus program, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children. Rotary has contributed more than $1.5 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. In addition, Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by donor governments to contribute more than $9 billion to the effort.

Today, there are only two countries that have never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Less than 370 polio cases were confirmed worldwide in 2014, which is a reduction of more than 99.9 percent since the 1980s, when the world saw about 1,000 cases per day.

Rotary has a growing roster of public figures and celebrities participating in its “This Close” public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, action movie star Jackie Chan and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan. These ambassadors help educate the public about polio through public service announcements, social media and public appearances.

Join us! Let’s end polio today!

Is your car an antique, a classic, a vintage or just old?

If you want to learn whether you have a piece of art or just an old clunker at home, you should learn the various car classifications: antique, vintage and classic. Each class has its own meaning and mastering these is one of the most basic concepts of learning this hobby. While some of these classifications are open to interpretation and can vary, there are attempts to create conformity. In fact, in some cases there are state laws that regulate how these words are used. In other situations there are definitions set by car collector groups.

All states waive certain fees and tests for vintage cars. Most states waive those same fees and tests for classic cars also. But determining whether you have a vintage or classic car can sometimes be confusing.

Antique car

An antique car is a classification that is often set by state law. States often have a special type of license plate for these cars. For that reason they set rules stating what qualifies as “antique.” In most cases it is a car that’s over 45 years old. Generally the car should be maintained in a way that keeps it true to the original manufacturer specifications.

It must be in its original or original restored condition and in working order. Antiques may be defined differently than this depending on the state you live in, so it’s best to check on local classifications.

A 1966 Ford Mustang is one example, but antiques can include more unusual vehicles such as:
– Light trucks
– Motorcycles
– Farm tractors

Classic car

This classification definitely overlaps with antique cars. The definition of classic car is actually quite similar to that of antique cars. A car must be at least 20 years old, but not more than 40 years old to be considered a classic car. It should again have been repaired and maintained in a way that keeps it true to its original design and specifications. In other words it should not be modified or altered. In addition, many add a stipulation that the vehicle should have been manufactured no earlier than 1925.

Classic cars vary just like antiques do and a Foremost example is a 1986 Chevy Camaro IROC Z28. Classic cars can also include:
– Foreign and American sports cars
– Muscle cars
– Convertibles
– Station wagons
– Corvettes

Vintage car

There is also overlap between vintage cars and antique cars. Some vintage cars quality as antique cars, but not all vintage cars are antique and vice versa. Different groups set different cut off points for what qualifies as a vintage car and what does not. Generally, cars that are considered Vintage were manufactured between the years of 1919 and 1930, but some end it at 1925. Unlike the other two classifications, having had modifications does not necessarily keep a car from being a vintage car.

As with any hobby, having a common vocabulary helps when you delve into the world of classic cars. Getting the distinctions between antique, classic and vintage cars down is an essential first step in helping you to communicate with other enthusiasts and is a good foundation on which to build.