Teen Wins Chevy Tahoe in Raffle And Donates It To Charity
There are a lot of people with negative things to say about kids these days. If the naysayers are to be believed, they all are addicted to technology, dress too provocatively, have no respect for others, and think only of themselves. Erin Byrnes, a 13-year-old who lives near Syracuse, New York, defied all of those stereotypes last month when she won a new Chevrolet Tahoe and then promptly gave it away.
Byrnes and her mother volunteer at Joseph’s House every Thursday, doing chores around the house and other tasks. The charity helps women struggling with unplanned pregnancy and young motherhood. In September, they held an annual raffle and gala to raise much-needed money for their programs. Byrnes knew how much Joseph’s House needed the help, and recycled cans and did other tasks to raise about $200 for raffle tickets. Since she was not old enough to enter the raffle herself, her family entered for her.
On the night of the gala, Erin Byrnes’s ticket was drawn to win the fully-loaded, all-new Chevrolet Tahoe, which was valued at about $70,000. She walked up to the stage and told the attendees that she was donating the SUV back to Joseph’s House to help them. This is also the same night that Byrnes won special recognition for her volunteerism, which makes this even better.
According to the Joseph’s House Facebook page, the organization sold the Tahoe and was going to use the money to buy a passenger van to help the new mothers get around town. When the owner of the dealership, who originally helped give the Tahoe to the raffle in the first place, heard about what was happening, he donated the van outright.
With a portion of the sale of the Tahoe, Joseph’s House was going to purchase a used 12 passenger van to help transport our moms safely. After Kitty offered a powerful reflection at Immaculate Conception Parish last weekend, Todd Caputo was in the audience and was so moved, he made a phone call and let us know that Sun Chevrolet was donating the van to Joseph’s House!! We picked it up and thought it would be fun to bring with us, Erin, the little girl who is showing all of us that God’s way is to love selflessly, without reservation! Please offer up a prayer of thanksgiving, along with the entire Joseph’s House family, for Erin Byrnes, Todd & Amy Caputo and our extended family at Sun Chevrolet! May God bless them abundantly!
Posted by Joseph’s House on Sunday, October 11, 2015
Hopefully the kind acts of one 13-year-old girl will inspire more people to do acts of kindness, even if they aren’t as large as a Chevrolet SUV.
News and Photo Source: Syracuse.com
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