This New England nonprofit fixes up and gives away cars to people who need them

As of January 2025, the average price of a new car has soared to nearly $50,000. Meanwhile, the median household income stands at around $80,000. In a country where owning a car isn’t so much a desire as a need to get around, purchasing a vehicle could take over half a family’s annual income.

This week, the Joy Beat is spotlighting Good News Garage .

Car Donor Emma, pre-recorded: You know, we’re giving the car to one person, but I know it’s going to have an impact on so many lives, and I’m really excited to be a part of that.

Car Recipient Shayesta, pre-recorded: We really need the car because we have to go driving everywhere — to work, to shopping.

Car Donor Emma, pre-recorded: You can just give somebody a little bit of a chance. It’s going to have a tremendous amount of impact.

Since 1996, the nonprofit has been dedicated to bridging that gap by providing donated, refurbished cars to income-eligible families.

Tyler Sullivan, director of operations at Good News Garage, joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath to share more about what getting a car — for free — can do for the families they work with. What follows is a lightly edited transcript.

Arun Rath: Let’s start right at the beginning. Tell us a story of how Good News Garage came together and how you came up with this mission.

Tyler Sullivan: Certainly. Our founder, Hal Colston, was really inspired by a single mother who came to him in 1994. She was really distraught because she had just purchased a used vehicle, and it was continuing to break down on her. That’s really what sparked the idea for Hal to start a nonprofit that focuses on providing affordable, safe and reliable transportation.

Rath: Obviously, then and now, there are a lot of people who fall into that category where having a car for essential needs is tough to manage.

Sullivan: Absolutely. As you pointed out, new car prices are sitting at about $50,000. And even when you look at used car prices nationally, they’re sitting at about $25,000.

In Massachusetts, it’s especially tough; the used car prices are sitting at about $33,000, so about 30% higher than the national average. Our mission is to provide safe, reliable transportation for those in need and who otherwise could not afford it.

Rath: Let’s talk about the Massachusetts-specific side of things. How does the Wheels to Work program operate?

Sullivan: Yeah, absolutely. We’re happy to have a great partner in MassAbility, who works with people with disabilities who are trying to regain autonomy and independence.

Essentially, we take in used vehicles from our great donor base. We fix the ones that, again, are safe and reliable. And then we partner with MassAbility on placing them with vehicle recipients.

Rath: Tell us about some of the stories — some of the people that you’ve met who have gone through this. I’ve got to imagine there are some pretty wonderful success stories.

Sullivan: Absolutely. We had one car recipient recently who had been carless for about 20 years. As you can imagine, with no vehicle, it’s difficult to work. It’s difficult to access education, health care — all of the social determinants of health.

I was really touched. When my team delivered the vehicle to this recipient, she left us with this one quote: “I am free now.” We were really, really touched by that because it’s incredible how much having access to transportation opens up someone’s world.

Rath: Wow. Just those few words — that really says it all, doesn’t it?

Sullivan: Absolutely, absolutely. There are dozens of stories every year from people who are just beyond grateful for the vehicle. And we, of course, in turn, are very grateful to our donors. They really fuel what we do at the end of the day.

Rath: Tell us a bit about the donors. Walk us through the donation process — who are the people that are helping you out here?

Sullivan: Yeah, absolutely. It’s a wide range of folks, but the process is very straightforward. We recommend people go to GoodNewsGarage.org and fill out our very simple online donation form, and our team basically reaches out from there.

Of course, the benefits of donating are not just that the vehicle is going to be refurbished and placed with an individual in need, but there’s also a tax deduction benefit, as well, to that donation.

Rath: Tyler, tell us a bit about how you got involved with Good News Garage.

Sullivan: Yeah. About two years ago, I was looking for a change. I really wanted to be a part of an organization that was giving back and making an impact in communities across New England.

Rath: And tell us about the team that you work with at Good News Garage.

Sullivan: My team is great. I am very humbled to work with the folks that I do each and every day. Many of them have social services backgrounds and — similar to me — are very inspired to perform the work every single day because of the impact it makes on all of our communities.

Rath: I’ve got to imagine that if you like working on cars to begin with, doing it in this kind of context must be pretty cool.

Sullivan: It’s great! The scale is certainly larger than back when I was a teenager changing the oil on my used vehicles. But absolutely — it’s great to get hands-on with the vehicles that are donated to us.

It’s great to deliver those vehicles out in the field to our car recipients. It’s just awesome to hear the stories and the impact that each of the vehicles we [deliver] makes on individuals.

Rath: Tell us a little bit more about that moment — when you’ve worked with a car, got it in whatever condition it was in into functioning well and then handed it off to someone who really needs it.

Sullivan: Yeah, it’s quite the process. But again, I’m very fortunate to have the team that I do to push that process through. We take in that vehicle, we assess it and we work with our partner garages to make the necessary repairs. But really, where the reward comes in is when we place that vehicle with the individuals — and, truly, handing those keys over and seeing the faces of the individuals receiving that vehicle.

Most of them get very, very emotional because, again, access to transportation has an immense impact on our ability to move upward economically. It impacts our ability to access education and — arguably, most importantly — access to work and the freedom to seek out other opportunities.

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