ChangingGears provides transportation, empowers clients

Since September 2011, ChangingGears has rehabbed 30 donated vehicles with the aim of providing affordable transportation to those in need; and at the end of March, the nonprofit will provide its first client with a car.

“I think she’ll be a really great client,” says Joel Bokelman, ChangingGears’ president. “She had owned vehicles, had a good job; but because of health issues, [she] couldn’t work and her finances became a mess—and part of that was she wasn’t able to keep her car—so she has been getting around on the bus for the last 12 years.” 

Getting around on the bus isn’t that easy, according to Bokelman, who says most high-paying, entry-level jobs are located near the airport or in the northern suburbs—in locations that are oftentimes hard to reach via public transportation.

“For folks who are job-ready, transportation is consistently in the top three needs or areas of need or hurdles that need to be overcome,” Bokelman says. But ChangingGears hopes to ease that burden for others by providing affordable, safe and reliable vehicles. 

As a residential partner of the CityLink Center, ChangingGears provides CityLink clients who have gained employment through Cincinnati Works and who have developed and successfully lived on a budget for at least three months, with a vehicle at fair-market value, which they can purchase with a no-interest loan. 

As CityLink clients work with SmartMoney Community Services to learn about finances and budgeting their money, they also attend classes at ChangingGears in preparation for owning and maintaining a vehicle. 

“We teach them about what it really costs to own a car—it’s not just paying for the car—it’s the gas, insurance and maintenance and everything about the legal requirements, the licensing and auto insurance and car seats,” Bokelman says. “And then we teach a hands-on basic maintenance class—how to check your oil, how to jumpstart a car, how to change a flat tire—the majors dos and don’ts of driving.” 

Bokelman says the nonprofit understands, however, that cars “break and can quickly become a burden for someone who has a fragile support structure around them,” so ChangingGears has created a business model that provides clients with a one-year warranty that covers free maintenance and repairs as long as clients provide the parts. 

“We want to make sure they’re empowered through ownership,” Bokelman says. “For many of them, this will be the first major asset they’ve ever owned and that they’ve purchased themselves with no government assistance, and to see that as really a stepping stone of ‘I own this. What’s next?’—that’s really a big part of it.” 

Do Good: 

• Donate your used vehicle to directly support clients in need of a car. Your donation is tax deductible for fair market value, and ChangingGears will pick up your vehicle and handle all paperwork.  

• Volunteer as a mechanic or as a workshop leader with ChangingGears by signing up through CityLink and attending a training session. 

• Contact ChangingGears if you are interested in forming a business partnership or if you are interested in donating in-kind contributions. 

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.