Making A Car Donation to the NVSF With Papa’s Old Chevy

When our next door neighbor Emilio told Papa that he should donate his old Chevy to charity, I thought Papa was going to blow a gasket.

Emilio had been dad’s friend and neighbor for over 20 years. They hadn’t always seen eye to eye on everything, but when my father told me about Emilio’s suggestion I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"There’s still some good left in that old chevy. Maybe somebody in the family will need it one day."

Papa thought that it wasn’t hurting anybody, parked in the back alley. I knew that he hated to throw anything away. Papa had grown up watching his father work very hard to put food on the table and besides. His father had been a hard working immigrant and like many Italian settlers wouldn’t dream of taking charity from anyone.

I told Papa I thought it was a great idea, reminding him that Emilio had suggested donating the car to charity would actually be helping someone who might really need it. Mama was quiet and poured us some coffee, and then all she said was that she also thought it was a great idea.

"Why is everyone so anxious for life to change" said Papa, but then he asked me if I would look into this car donation thing for him?

At home, that evening I went online and found a website called Easy Donate a Car. Impressed with the information they had on the web site, I called the toll free number (800-405-5236) the next day. The car donation representative explained that they processed car donations on behalf of the National Veterans Services Fund (NVSF), a non-profit society. Since 1978 the NVSF has supported war veterans and their families. I remember Papa always used to tell me that a war never seems to end on the battlefield, so I knew he’d want to contribute.

I stopped at my parents place the next day after work. Papa and I went out back to look at the car. I had to admit, it was still in good condition. My father had spent many hours maintaining this car, and I came to understand that Papa’s old Chevy was like an old reliable friend. While life was full of endless changes, his old car was still the same.

Emilio was out watering his garden and soon joined us. Papa told Emilio that he was going to take Emilio’s suggestion and make a veteran car donation. Emilio put his hand on dad’s shoulder and told him he was proud of him. Papa poured us each a glass of wine and we raised our glasses. After all, Papa was right. There was still some good in that old Chevy and donating the car to the National Veterans Services Fund was worth a little celebration.

E. Russo