Charitable Vehicle Donation Program Keeps It Local; Donated Vehicles Can Provide Food, Shelter or Medicine for Those in Need

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With vehicle donation programs available to benefit every worthy cause imaginable ― everything from animals to kids to veterans ― why donate a used vehicle to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP)? Answer: The vehicle, or the money generated from its sale at auction, is tied directly to the donor's zip code.

"The bottom line is that someone in need in your neighborhood will benefit," said Dave Barringer, CEO of the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul. "To borrow the slogan for a well-known tourist destination, what you donate in your neighborhood stays in your neighborhood."

Since SVdP introduced the program in 2010, more than 4,500 vehicles have gone through the program, including trucks, boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, heavy equipment and airplanes. "We say that if it rolls, floats or flies, we can probably accommodate the donation," Barringer said.

The average vehicle in the program nets about $600. 

"Putting that in human terms," said Barringer, "it means we can keep someone in their apartment for a month instead of going homeless, the electricity and the heat stay on for an elderly couple, or a child gets prescription medicine that helps him or her get well. At the same time, some of our chapters prefer to refurbish cars for someone who needs the transportation to get to and from a job."

Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA), one of the largest companies of its kind in North America, administers and manages the vehicle donation program for SVdP. IAA's goal is to sell each vehicle for the highest price possible, and has been working with charitable organizations for more than almost 20 years.  

Barringer said this is the time of the year when vehicle donations spike.  "Everyone is trying to get the vehicle donated to qualify for a tax deduction before the year ends," he said.

To donate a vehicle or get more information, log on to: www.svdpusacars.com, or call (800) 322-8284.

About the Society of St. Vincent de Paul 
One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (www.svdpusa.org) is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of more than 770,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 149 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals more than 148,000 in 4,300 communities. Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, transportation and utility costs, care for the sick, the incarcerated and the elderly, and prescription medicine. Last year, SVdP provided more than $755 million in tangible and in-kind services, made more than 1.6 million person-to-person visits (homes, hospitals and prisons), and helped almost 15 million people regardless of race, religion or national origin.

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Media inquiries only:
Charles B. Henderson
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Email  
Office: (314) 576-3993, ext. 214 
Cell: (314) 623-6505

SOURCE Society of St. Vincent de Paul