After several years of borrowing a car from friends or asking coworkers and family members for rides, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee Team Member Cindy Bates now has her own set of wheels. 

Bates, a Hard Goods Processor, at Goodwill’s Fayetteville store location, was selected as the 19th recipient of the Wheels To Work Program. She found out she had been selected to receive a donated car in December when she was asked to join a Zoom call with her managers and members of the Goodwill Leadership team. 

“I just couldn’t believe it when they told me!” Bates said. “I was so shocked, it was hard to process it.”

Members of the Goodwill leadership team presented Bates with the keys to a 2004 Honda Element during a special presentation in front of the store Thursday morning. The life-changing moment for Bates was also featured on WHNT News, the local CBS affiliate TV station in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Bates is a long-time resident of Fayetteville and has worked with Goodwill for nearly two years. She’s been without a car since August 2023 when she was in a car accident that totaled her vehicle. 

“It’s been such a struggle since then, borrowing cars or asking for rides,” Bates said. “My coworkers at Goodwill have been wonderful with helping me to get and from my shifts, and my family too.”

Since 2013, Goodwill has helped eliminate the barrier of transportation by giving donated vehicles to team members at no cost. 

Danny Rhodes, Director of Donations Acquisitions, said Goodwill’s Wheels To Work Program is a true example of Goodwill’s mission as a local nonprofit of changing lives through education, training and employment. 

“We have the opportunity to take a donation that comes to us and use it in a manner that can help transform someone’s life, then we’re helping that donation reach its fullest potential, and we’re helping that employee reach their fullest potential,” Rhodes said. 

After getting the keys to her car, Bates also received a lesson on how to drive a manual transmission. She picked it up quickly and was successfully driving the car around the parking lot in minutes. 

“It’s going to be an adventure, but I’m ready for it!” She said. 

Now that she has her own car, Bates said she is most looking forward to getting to spend more quality time with her children and grandchildren.