Henry County resident donates car to family in need

MT. PLEASANT - The spirit of Henry County seems to be defined by the residents' willingness to help their neighbors.

Ken Lindeen walked into the Fellowship Cup on Friday, Dec. 20, with only that objective in mind when he presented the nonprofit's executive director, Ken Brown, with a car donation. After receiving his sister's 2004 Honda Odyssey, Lindeen drove the vehicle around for several months before realizing it could be put to better use if he donated it a family in need.

'What inspired me was I had an opportunity to get a good vehicle for cheap and I didn't need it,” Lindeen explained.

The Henry County resident, who works as a truck driver, explained that he wanted to give the car to a family who was 'down on their luck,” and whose lives would be impacted in a positive way through the donation. In addition to the vehicle itself, Lindeen also had the car serviced and purchased brand-new tires as part of the donation. The truck driver also paid for the van's license and registration.

'In my line of work, I see all the underbellies of every place. I've had times in my life when I was down and out and needed a helping hand and I'm the one that got the good end of that deal because there's nothing better than helping somebody out,” Lindeen continued.

'When I heard he had a car to give away, I immediately went, ‘I have the perfect family,'” Brown said.

The executive director handed Lindeen's contact information to Reita Frazier and within several hours, Lindeen had handed the car off to the family.

'They do the monthly Wednesday meal at the Fellowship Cup, usually it's a church or an organization but this family takes care of that monthly meal … they're incredibly involved. Reita also helps with the Bridges Out of Poverty program,” Brown remarked.

The Frazier family had come to the executive director when seemingly endless car troubles began to pile up for them. Reita and Willy Frazier, Mt. Union residents who rely on having two cars to get to work and transport their four children to and from school, were unable to continue to afford repairs.

'Since October, between me and my husband, we had five flat tires. We had to get my van's radiator fixed and then the next day after it came out of the shop, a ball joint broke,” Reita explained. The family's 2001 Venture van was beginning to fall to pieces, so much so that the door of the vehicle had become dislodged from its hinge just several days before receiving the new van.

Had the Fraziers not gotten the donation, the family would have had to make three to four round trips from their home to Mt. Pleasant every day. Reita and Willy, who both work at Sunnybrook, have staggered shifts in order to be able to drop off and pick up their children from school. Reita explained that the car will allow the family to stay on their feet.

'To me, this donation just shows that we're all blessed, completely and utterly blessed in our town … it really helped us out,” Reita said.