Salisbury, MD – Community members, stakeholders and local business representatives filled the room at Thursday’s grand opening event for Vehicles for Change Delmarva in Salisbury. Keynote speaker, Salisbury Mayor Jake Day celebrated the organization’s contribution to the area’s workforce development efforts while VFC’s founder, Martin Schwartz highlighted the organizations success with a 100% program graduate job placement rate and 98% employment retainment rate. The real story behind the VFC mission was shared by one of the program’s interns, who said the opportunity to train as a mechanic with a permanent job in sight, was a “second chance that changed his life.”
Vehicles for Change (VFC) is a non-profit organization designed to empower community members to achieve personal financial independence through car ownership and technical training in the automotive field through the Full Circle Training Center.
About Vehicles for Change
Vehicles for Change was founded in 1999 in Halethorpe, Maryland as a car award program to meet the personal transportation needs of low-income families. The program has awarded nearly 8,000 cars to families, giving them access to higher-paying jobs, more flexibility to work overtime, and shorter commutes which translates to more time with their families.
“Many of the recipients that are part of the car award program are single moms with two to three children,” said Martin Schwartz, president, Vehicles for Change. “The cars are giving them access to life. They can work, take their kids to school activities and sports programs, doctor’s appointments, and on vacations.”
In 2015, VFC launched Full Circle, a paid internship program developed to provide auto mechanic training to individuals who have recently been released from prison and secure employment upon graduation. To date, more than two hundred paid interns have completed the program, and 100% of graduates found jobs with an average starting salary of $34,000.
“Our interns are graduating making a living wage, buying homes, paying child support and spending time with their children again,” added Schwartz. “Our employers state that our graduates are some of the best employees they have. They show up early, stay late, are willing to take on extra work and want to continue to learn!”
Driving Expansion to Salisbury
In 2016, Vehicles for Change HQ in Halethorpe, Maryland was a stop on a Leadership Maryland tour where former Greater Salisbury Committee executive director Luis Luna heard VFC director Martin Schwartz, talk about the goal to expand to other sites. He immediately started making phone calls to get the ball rolling.
“Luis called me and said we need to bring VFC to Salisbury,” said Mike Dunn, president, and CEO of Greater Salisbury Committee. “He was impressed with the organization’s mission and operations. We both knew Salisbury and our surrounding communities had a need for greater access to transportation as a workforce development tool. Cars give people access to jobs. That was the bottom line.”
From conversations with GSC member Sandy Fitzgerald-Angello, Dunn recognized the mechanic training program could meet local needs by helping fill high-demand auto mechanic jobs at local businesses.
“I was getting ready to start my own training program because we needed to grow our pool of mechanics here on the Shore,” said Sandy Fitzgerald-Angello, president, Pohanka Automotive Group. “The VFC Full Circle training program is not only providing a solution for the private sector’s need for trained mechanics but also paving a path for citizens re-entering the workforce to secure meaningful jobs to provide for themselves and their families. This organization is truly an asset to our community.”
Funding the Program
As a paid training program, the cost to train each Full Circle intern is $18,000. The seed money for the expansion to Salisbury came from federal, state, and local funds. VFC applied for grants through the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, a workforce development division of Tri-County Council and was awarded a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grant, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant and Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) grant. Local partners include Pohanka of Salisbury, and Your Salisbury Honda Dealer – Pohanka Honda of Salisbury.
“We are an organization that gives second chances,” said Shawna Kearsley, program director, Vehicles for Change Delmarva. “Our first class of ten interns started back in September, and they are training eight hours a day for 4 months to become certified auto mechanics. When they graduate, with our help they will be guaranteed a job.”
Car Award Program
Car donations are a vital part of Vehicle for Change. Donated cars can be awarded to families, used for auto parts for repairs, or sold to generate operating funds for the organization. Not only do donated cars help families in need, VFC donors can claim the full fair market value of their car to maximize their tax deduction.
Car recipient applications are administered through VFC’s partner programs, such as social service agencies and job readiness programs. If selected, VFC guarantees a low-interest loan regardless of credit history. Applicants must be a resident of Maryland or Northern Virginia, work at least 30 hours a week, have a driver’s license, be insurable with no extensive criminal background and able to afford ongoing costs of car ownership such as insurance, fuel, and repairs. Applicants are also required to cover fees for taxes, tags, and titles.
For more information about Vehicles for Change Delmarva, call 443/449-3005 or visit https://www.vehiclesforchange.org.
