By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great local journalism.
400 Gives: The Place gifts vehicles to families to get them back on the road to stability
The Place of Forsyth County

See the full issue of the April 400 Life magazine here.


In 2016, The Place of Forsyth County was donated a vehicle. Most nonprofit organizations would have sold the vehicle to help bolster its funds. But Joni Smith, president and CEO of The Place, and the nonprofit’s staff had a different idea: The Place would give the vehicle away to a family in need.

“We realized the impact that could be made if we gave the vehicle away to a family who needed transportation,” Smith said this past December when the organization gave cars to four local families. 

So The Place added it to the list of programs and services that the nonprofit offers to local residents in need to help them become self-sustaining. In three years, The Place has gifted more than 20 vehicles.

Lack of transportation can be a major barrier to struggling families. According to a Harvard University study in 2015, access to transportation is the No. 1 factor impacting economic mobility. 

“It’s difficult to be self-sustaining without proper transportation,” Smith said.

The vehicles that The Place gifts are always used, but the nonprofit partners with local auto repair shops, including the auto tech class at Forsyth Central High School, to get them ready for the road again.

Those interested in donating their used vehicle to The Place can contact Jacob Granados, the organization’s director of purposeful engagement, at jacob@theplaceofforsyth.org.

Donors can claim the full value of the vehicle as a tax write-off, and The Place can hand a local family the keys to getting back on the road for stability. 

For more information about The Place of Forsyth County, visit them online