Charitable organization Homeless Cars aims to help those in need by letting the community know that a single car donation can make a big difference for the less fortunate in Cochrane and surrounding communities.
Director of operations and communications, Gillian Speziali, explains that Homeless Cars is a vehicle donation charity that is 100 per cent Canadian that operates in various communities across the country. She outlines that all proceeds from vehicles that are picked up are given to charities that operate locally in the province that they are collected.
“So, what that means for Cochrane residents is that if they donate their vehicle to Homeless Cars, the proceeds from the vehicle donation stay in the greater Calgary area to help Albertans,” Speziali explained. “I myself am a Cochrane resident, and I find so often that a lot of services and organizations that maybe operate here don’t necessarily give back to the community.
“[…] And so, with that in mind, it is really important operating in Alberta to ensure that the proceeds from these vehicle donations stay in the community where it was donated.”
The process itself involves a donor making a quick call to via 1-833-465-7227 or visiting www.homelesscars.ca where they fill out a donation form. From there, a representative will reach out via a phone call to schedule a pick up.
Through this seamless process, the vehicle can be picked up as early as the following day or when it is most convenient for the donor.
“The only thing we need for pickup is a new bill of sales to be filled out by the donor,” she said. “It’s usually a five-minute call to set up the pickup, and from there the actual pickup takes about 15 minutes when the tow truck driver gets there to hook it up.
“And then the donor gets a tax receipt for the value of the vehicle by the end of the month following the donation with a guaranteed minimum of a $700 tax receipt that they can put towards their income tax when they file the following year.”
All proceeds from donated vehicles in Cochrane will be dedicated to the Alpha House Society and the Calgary Food Bank.
“Alpha House provides outreach services, addiction services, as well as some rehab and shelter services as well, whereas the Calgary Food Bank is more on the food security side of things, providing food hampers to families, and tackling important points with the provincial government relating to food costs and doing advocacy in the community,” Speziali said.
Although cars vastly differ in value depending on a variety of factors, Speziali outlines that one vehicle donation can still impact a minimum of 150 people. In 2023 alone, Homeless Cars was able to donate over $55,000 to charities.
“We know that at a minimum one vehicle can feed at least 150 people for a week, or it can also support the cost to shelter individuals for seven nights,” she said.
For anyone interested in making vehicle donation, Speziali said they can contact Homeless Cars by calling 1-833-465-7227 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday. They can also reach out online via www.homelesscars.ca outside of their regular business hours.
“If a donor has any questions, we’d be happy to answer them as well,” she added. “A lot of donors have some initial questions about what they need for the new bill of sale and things like that, so we’re definitely happy to help along the way.”
