An Act of Love

Last fall I became acquainted with the nonprofit group Michelle’s Love. Their volunteers help single parents who are undergoing cancer treatment with house cleaning, meals, yard work, transportation to doctor appointments or treatment – helping a parent with any assistance they may need. In September I purchased a new car and needed to figure out what I wanted to do with my 2006 minivan. It was a really nice minivan and I wanted to donate it rather than sell it. My sister told me about Michelle’s Love and suggested I donate the van to the organization. I called Andy McCandless, Founder of Michelle’s Love, and tell her about my van donation. She usually gets cash donations, apparently people do not donate vehicles to the organization so she was a little suspicious of why I’d want to donate a perfectly good minivan. She asked me “why aren’t you selling it?” I told her I really don’t need the money or want to hassle with selling it. Anyway she told me she would call me back if she had a request from a client that needed a vehicle.

I was a little put off and thought if she didn’t call me back by the end of the week, I’d just contact Oregon Humane Society or Disabled Veterans and donate the van to them. A few days later Andy called me back. She just had a parent sign up and needed a vehicle to get to her cancer treatment appointments. Currently she was taking the bus and MAX to appointments. I could not imagine taking public transportation to and from treatment appointments. So both Andy and I worked that afternoon to make this parent’s wish come true. I met the parent and her daughter at a restaurant midway between our houses. Attached is the photo of me presenting her with the keys to the van. Since then, I have attended fundraisers for Michelle’s Love and my sister has volunteered to help clean parents’ homes. It’s a wonderful organization and I love what they are doing!

Here is the link to their website Michelle’s Love – Charitable Organization, Cancer, Charity (michelleslove.org).