While many are driving new cars because of the Cash for Clunkers program, many others would be happy to have any car at all and that wish is getting harder to fill, even for the Car Santa.
So many people consider a car as a way to simply get from point A to point B. But four wheels means so much more for one woman, who's had nothing but tragedy in her life for the past year.
Jennifer Beverly couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face when she checked out her new car: a '94 Cutlass Sierra courtesy of Terry Franz and "Cars for Heroes."
Jennifer's hoping this car is a symbolic ending to personal tragedy.
"It's been extremely hard to lose my husband, my house, my car, within three weeks of his death. Trying to deal with 3 kids, it's just been unbearable," she said.
Jennifer's husband, Steven, was disabled while serving as a Marine in Iraq for three years. But on May 11, he unexpectedly passed away after suffering complications from medication he took for post traumatic stress disorder.
When Jennifer found him, he was on the floor. She was about to tell him she was pregnant.
"One minute, everything was wonderful, the next minute, he was gone," she said.
Now, Jennifer says she's doing her best and trying to raise three kids and survive on her own and that's possible thanks to "Cars for Heroes."
"When you stand there and take that load off them and hand them the keys and you see the look on their face, it's all worth it," Car Santa Terry Franz said.
"This means I can get my kids to the doctor, I can go to the grocery store," Jennifer said. "I'm going to go back to school and get my degree, I'm going to move on with my life, that's all I can do."
So many people consider a car as a way to simply get from point A to point B. But four wheels means so much more for one woman, who's had nothing but tragedy in her life for the past year.
Jennifer Beverly couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face when she checked out her new car: a '94 Cutlass Sierra courtesy of Terry Franz and "Cars for Heroes."
Jennifer's hoping this car is a symbolic ending to personal tragedy.
"It's been extremely hard to lose my husband, my house, my car, within three weeks of his death. Trying to deal with 3 kids, it's just been unbearable," she said.
Jennifer's husband, Steven, was disabled while serving as a Marine in Iraq for three years. But on May 11, he unexpectedly passed away after suffering complications from medication he took for post traumatic stress disorder.
When Jennifer found him, he was on the floor. She was about to tell him she was pregnant.
"One minute, everything was wonderful, the next minute, he was gone," she said.
Now, Jennifer says she's doing her best and trying to raise three kids and survive on her own and that's possible thanks to "Cars for Heroes."
"When you stand there and take that load off them and hand them the keys and you see the look on their face, it's all worth it," Car Santa Terry Franz said.
"This means I can get my kids to the doctor, I can go to the grocery store," Jennifer said. "I'm going to go back to school and get my degree, I'm going to move on with my life, that's all I can do."
