Their family suburban had lived through its glory days, and Marty Boes decided this winter it was time to get rid of the beloved 2003 “Burb” with 230,000 miles on it.
“I knew I couldn’t send it to college with a kid,” the Great Falls volunteer said. “It was in good shape, but its days were numbered.”
Boes also knew she wasn’t likely to get much money if she tried to sell the red Chevy Suburban. All three of her kids had driven it through their high school years and there were scrapes, dents and other damage that only time and teenagers can create.
“It just looked terrible,” she said.
So she decided to donate The Burb to the American Red Cross so that the organization could put whatever money her “tank” could make toward humanitarian efforts.
Having been a disaster response team member for the Montana-Idaho Red Cross for the last five years, Boes said she had heard of the national vehicle donation program, but didn’t realize how easy it was until she filled out the form online at www.redcross.org/donations/ways-to-donate/car-donations.html. She said the hardest part was tracking down the vehicle title and getting it notarized, but even that wasn’t difficult.
She was assisted by Red Cross’ partner in this effort, Insurance Auto Auctions. The program can accept vehicles in almost any condition in all 50 states. They work directly with the vehicle owner to pick up the vehicle at no cost to the individual, at any convenient time. IAA then provides the documentation needed for tax purposes and will sell the vehicle. Revenue enables the Red Cross to carry out its humanitarian mission locally, nationally and around the world.
Boes was worried they wouldn’t take the vehicle because the battery wasn’t working. But that didn’t matter.
“They made it really easy, she said. “They picked it up at my house. I didn’t even have to deliver it.”
Boes gets to claim the donation on her taxes, and her vehicle nabbed $1,000 for the Red Cross, an organization she loves to support.
“I’ve always wanted to help people who’ve had something unexpected happened to them,” she said. “This was just another way to help the Red Cross.”