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Car races lead to donation for car repairs

Community Cares raised money to help single parents with car repairs
Macie May
Macie May
unnamed (23)
Left to Right: Kelli Smith, Pearl board member, Donna Rippey, Pearl executive director, Tomas Perez, Community Cares board president, Brenda Martinez, Community Cares board secretary, John Cade, Community Cares race marshall, Bob Parmley, Pearl Car Care Clinic volunteer.

Saturday marked the kickoff of the Pine Car Derby 2021 Kickoff. Started in the midst of COVID, the July 2020 event, hosted by the nonprofit Community Cares, raised funds that were donated to help families with car repair needs.

Community Cares donated $5,000 to PEARL, another Longmont nonprofit dedicated to helping single-parent families “build an economically and emotionally stable home environment through sustainable programs,” according to the website. 

Community Cares chose to support PEARL because of its Car Care Clinics, which provides funding for single parents unable to repair or maintain vehicles essential to providing safe transportation. Sometimes that can include donating vehicles. 

In 2020, PEARL donated 13 cars with an average value of $3,500. In total, the organization spent nearly $40,000 in car repairs, new tires, oil changes and safety inspections for those they serve, according to data provided by Donna Rippey, executive director. 

“We are extremely grateful for this donation as we were not able to have our traditional fundraiser due to COVID-19.  This donation will allow us to continue to help empower single parents,” Rippey said via email.

“Having fun on purpose,” is the slogan of Community Cares which began as a grassroots nonprofit in 2019 with the purpose of “creating fun, community involved events to help raise tax deductible donations in support of local programs that serve children and emergency human service needs,” Community Cares President, Tomas Perez, said.  

For Community Cares, fun started last year with a Pine Car Derby. The starting line of the 60 foot track began at the top of the mezzanine of Old Town Marketplace, located at 332 Main St. 

While Rippey does not have plans to enter the derby herself, she said some of the children of the families supported by PEARL are planning to enter a car. 

Registration for the race opened on Saturday. 

This year’s celebration of the American icon, the automobile, will be held in the same location on Oct. 30, accompanied by a Classic Car Truck o’ Treat, Perez said. 

One day, Community Cares hopes to grow this event from wooden drag racing to a go-cart Grand Prix through downtown Longmont.