In its most recent initiative, Jericho Cares partnered with the Recycled Rides program to help one of its clients receive a refurbished car.
“This is going to change her life,” said Tracy Fitzgerald, a Jericho Cares board member. “It’s just an amazing story.”
Lisa Roldan, a client of the nonprofit for the past three years, will replace her 2004 vehicle with a newly refurbished one.
Roldan is a single mother forced to start fresh after her house in Hempstead burned down a few years ago. Roldan currently lives in Baldwin.
“I was pretty much starting over,” Roldan said.
With help from Jericho Cares, Bi-County Auto Body in Smithtown, GEICO, and the National Auto Body Council, Roldan received a donated and refurbished car for herself and her daughter.
This is the first time Jericho Cares has partnered with the Recycled Rides program.
“I am thrilled to be part of an organization that is going to dramatically change somebody’s life with the use of transportation,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald has been with the nonprofit for two years and has acted as a board member since May. She worked with Roldan over the past six months to guide her through the application process and budget her finances.
“It’s very strict requirements,” Fitzgerald said. “I just helped Lisa through the process.”
The vehicle was donated by Geico, and repaired by Bi-County Auto Body, Fitzgerald said. The auto shop donated its time and labor to the cause.
Other contributing partners that donated services include Reliable Rim Repair, Albert Kemperle, BASF, Advanced Remarketing Services, Cars for Charity, Copart and Enterprise, Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said Roldan isn’t the only one who will benefit from the donation.
“It’s not just for her,” she said. “She uses transportation to help so many people.”
“This donated car is going to help so many people through that domino effect,” she said.
Roldan said she works for a nonprofit agency that supports mental and behavioral health. She specifically works with children and families with autism.
In addition to receiving help from Jericho Cares, Roldan said she gives back to the nonprofit to help others when she can.
She keeps old clothes in her car so she can donate when she sees people in need as well, she said.
When she became a Jericho Cares client three years ago, Roldan said it was a big step for her to take.
“I’m not one to reach out and ask for help,” Roldan.
Since then she said the nonprofit has provided her with an extra sense of security.
“Ever since then we’ve had such an amazing relationship,” Roldan said. “No matter how small it is, Ms. Fran and her volunteers have always been there for me and my daughter.”
Roldan said she wants to provide for others in the same way she’s received from the group.
“I’m now able to help others the way that Ms. Fran and Jericho Cares has been able to help me,” she said.
Receiving a refurbished vehicle will take a big financial burden off her since her 2004 vehicle required a lot of upkeep and maintenance, she said.
“I’m just so blessed that we’re able to now get a reliable [form of] transportation,” she said.
Roldan’s daughter, Melissa, was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness that requires weekly treatments. Roldan said Melissa’s condition went undiagnosed for years.
“We exhausted all medical providers,” she said.
Recently, she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, a neurological disorder that weakens her body. The chronic pain had gotten so bad, her daughter could not walk at points, Roldan said.
“My daughter has a lot of character,” she said. “She has strength.”
Having a new, reliable vehicle will help the pair get to and from medical appointments.
Roldan said she is thankful to Jericho Cares for their assistance throughout the process.
“It’s such an honor to be recognized,” she said. “I am so grateful.”
Jericho Cares is a nonprofit organization that assists local families. The nonprofit delivers food and supplies to families within a 20-mile radius of Jericho.
In August, the nonprofit supplied 122 pairs of new sneakers to local students, and in November, the group fed 390 residents.
Roldan said the nonprofit’s president, Fran O’Connor has been helpful since she and Melissa began the program three years ago.
“She’s like my extended family,” Roldan said.
Roldan said the nonprofit has provided food, clothing and other necessities.
“Because what they do everyday, and what they’ve done for me and my daughter, I don’t think that I would have had that feeling of security [without them],” she said.
