The First Car Project
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Car
Aztek Pontiac Aztec
The Pontiac Aztek is a crossover-style vehicle made by Pontiac. It was designed to be practical and useful, and it has a very unusual look. The podcast mentions it because someone is proud of having driven one.
Term
backup camera
A backup camera is a camera on the back of the car that turns on when you put the car in reverse. It helps you see things behind you so you’re less likely to hit something.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Corvette is a sports car made by Chevrolet. It’s built for performance and is meant to be fun to drive. It’s frequently mentioned because it’s one of the best-known American sports cars.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Camaro is a sporty car made by Chevrolet. It’s designed to feel fast and exciting to drive, and it’s often mentioned alongside other similar performance cars. People talk about it because there are many different versions over the years.
Car
Ford Mustang
The Mustang is a sporty car made by Ford. It’s known for being fun to drive and for having a lot of different versions over the years. It comes up a lot in conversations because it’s a major performance model.
Term
partnerships
Here, “partnerships” just means working together with other people or companies to help the project. It can be either the project contacting them, or them contacting the project.
Brand
Lamborghini
Lamborghini is a famous Italian brand that makes high-end supercars. The hosts mention it to show how amazed people get when they see one in person.
Concept
paperwork that's necessary
They’re talking about the forms and checks that have to be done before the buyer can actually get the car. It’s basically the legal steps that make sure everything is official.
Term
contract
A contract is the written agreement that sets the rules for what’s allowed. In this case, it includes restrictions related to the car’s financing/legal status.
Term
lien
A lien is a legal claim against a car (or other property) that typically exists because of unpaid debt, most often tied to financing. If there’s a lien on the vehicle for a set period, it can restrict what the owner can do with the car—like selling it—until the lien is cleared.
Car
Dodge Charger
The Charger is a performance sedan made by Dodge. It’s designed to be powerful and sporty, not just a regular family car. People often consider it when they want a bigger car with muscle-car style.
Car
Dodge Challenger
The Challenger is a muscle car made by Dodge. It’s a two-door car built for performance and a classic look. It’s mentioned as a car people might want to buy for that sporty, powerful feel.
Topic
Cars and Coffee
Cars and Coffee is a casual car meetup where people bring cars and hang out. In this story, it’s where others can see the car and hear about the project.
Car
Range Rover
A Range Rover is a luxury SUV made by Land Rover. It’s the kind of vehicle that can be expensive to repair, which is why the group says they couldn’t use donated money to fix one.
Company
Platinum
Platinum is mentioned as a helper that provided major support. That support probably helped pay for repairs or parts so the car could be kept running.
Company
German Tech
German Tech is a group that helped with the project. Based on the name, they likely specialize in working on German cars, which can require specific know-how.
LIVE
Old classic car on the corner, still calling my name so it seems, but I can't fool you so I'll just ignore you and drive you in my dreams.
I'll drive you in my dreams, drive you in my dreams.
Welcome back to another episode of the classic car corner podcast. I'm your co-host Jason Painter joined by Eric Benzel.
And tonight we are excited to welcome back two familiar faces from right here in Louisville, Eric Benson and Ashley Borden.
As you know, Eric and Ashley play a major role in our local car community and are the driving force behind River City Rivers.
Cars in the Commonwealth and the first car project. Welcome back guys. This is always a blast talking with you guys.
Thanks for having us.
Of course, absolutely. So as I was just mentioning, this is our first podcast for 2026. So we're delighted and privileged to have you guys here tonight.
Happy to be here.
Heck yeah, man. And you're tired because you just got in from Ohio. So we'll promise to keep this entertaining for you.
All right. That's right. We're not going to put you to sleep like some of other shows.
The dulcet tones. I'm just kidding. So let's let's start off.
So coming up with River City Rivers, it started as a car club and it's involved into a car enthusiast community.
And to understand how the first car project came into existence, tell us how River City Rivers began its philanthropic missions.
So we basically created it because of the pandemic. And so that was the why in the beginning. And then it grew and then it became too big to just drive around and do what we do.
So we threw a car show and it went pretty well. So we threw a second car show and it went pretty well as well.
And so we started donating those funds to local charities.
Inevitably, the shows got big enough that we felt we could support, you know, our own charity and kind of make a difference in a little bit bigger way.
And so the opportunity was presented to us and our friend Alex approached us and from there, Ashley got me into it.
Good job, Ashley.
Well, I think it's cute how he started that story because to be honest, the pandemic hit and he was home too much.
And I was like, you need to get a hobby. Let's get you out. Let's do something safe because obviously I was in the hospital working and it was a bad time.
So him suggesting a little driving club was like something fun they could do and also COVID safe.
And then the club went from 20 people to 200 to 500 pretty quickly, which was awesome.
And so he said something about doing a car show and I'm like, well, I'm not doing it just to make money. We have to have a reason to do this.
And so Norton Children's, they give a house away in Norton Commons. They also do a BMW away in Norton Commons.
So we were like, they're the perfect people. Let's reach out and see what we can do.
And so they were at their very first show and I think we gave them like $500. I mean, we didn't make very much money.
And then last year was the last two years, it was like $42,000 a charity and $36,000 something like that.
Plus the cars that were given away, that doesn't include the cars that we gave. So it's super awesome.
That is awesome.
I think it doesn't include what happens at those events is people don't know what they're getting ready to see.
And so oftentimes we'll get a check several months later, but later they tell us, hey, we're at the show.
We didn't know anything about it. And then boom, a big check arrives later.
So everyone that participates in that Cars in the Commonwealth event really fuels a lot of what we'll see in the months after the show as well.
And this will be your number?
Six.
Goodness gracious.
It's number six.
Okay. But the Cars in the Commonwealth is your number?
It's number two for Cars in the Commonwealth, but Cars in the Commons, which was...
Yes.
So that's number six of the shows, yeah.
And it started as a neighborhood and now it's grown to the size of the state, to the common.
That's huge.
Pretty big.
No, we're taking it out of the neighborhood. We're taking it to the Commonwealth.
That's right.
Because we're not really a state folks. We're like, we're a Commonwealth, like Virginia and a couple other places.
Yeah.
No, so I mean, so how did you go about obtaining partnerships to participate?
I mean, I think you kind of alluded to it, just they were, they just started coming to you and like, oh, hey, we want to...
Just starting the car show in general or the charity?
Well, the charity.
Yeah, like when did the first car show project begin?
Yeah, so Alex White obviously is such a huge part of the car community as well.
He came to us and was like, hey, I see what you guys are doing in year two. I really want to be a part of it.
So he was a part of year two in Cars in the Commons.
And then Margie Stevens, she's one of our founding board members, she came to him for attorney advice and then just happened to tell him about this idea she had.
And he's like, I know the perfect people.
Suckers.
So he just kind of brought it up to us and it was, we were voluntold that we were going to get it going.
Gotcha.
But it is such a fulfilling thing that it was very easy for us to get on board.
Gotcha.
Yeah, we had Alex White on our podcast just, well, he may have been the last one we did. I'm not sure.
He's recent.
Yeah.
And super nice guy.
Yeah, you know, just really involved.
You know, I'm proud of him for driving the Pontiac Aztec.
And he's, I think he's proud of it too.
Absolutely.
I saw him on Hersporn Lane the other day.
He was going one way.
I was going another and now ring, ring, ring.
And he answered.
And I'm like, oh, I see you're supporting Aztec today.
And he goes, you know what?
I like this thing.
I don't know why, but I do.
So anyhow, but good for him for, you know, playing those games with these cars and he's got a.
Well, he was a big, big part of, you know, of launching it.
Obviously it takes a little bit of funding to launch a 501 C3.
In fact, it takes a little bit of legal work as well.
And so he's been, he's been a big, big, big part from right from the jump.
And, you know, now it's grown to where, you know, we've got more, more partners locally, right?
Because ultimately we know all the folks in the car community.
Yeah.
And with, with that comes the opportunity to get these cars fixed for a little bit less.
Sometimes we get parts.
Gosh, you said something today.
Bumper to bumper, I think.
Bumper to bumper donated some parts to one of our, our previous cars that had had a little issue.
And, but we have like passion partners like German tech.
They were one of the very first ones that we went to.
And they were like, absolutely.
We want to be involved somehow, some, you know, some way.
And so like on our website, we, you know, we try and list all of them.
So we don't forget anybody and that people can go and see.
Extreme auto sound puts a backup camera and every single car, which, you know,
some of these older cars, they don't have that.
And it's such a good safety mechanism that the car play in.
So the kids, you know, can use that instead of their phone.
Yep.
Well, I think whatever, whatever I'm saying here, it just underscores the car community
and the, the cool folks, men and women that are involved in this is just,
is just, I mean, there's, I mean, whether you drive a Camaro or a Corvette
or a Mustang or a, I don't know.
Two or three that you have a really foreshadowing something here.
But yeah, it doesn't matter what you drive.
People want to be a part of this.
So when you go out to get these partnerships with folks like German tech
and once they hear about this, how do you obtain these partnerships?
I do air quotes partnerships and do, are you going out to them or are they now coming
to you saying, Hey, I want to be a part of this.
What can I do to help out?
Yeah, it's definitely a little bit of both.
If there's a certain car.
So like we knew Josh Pritchett used to be a Hyundai technician.
I'm like, Hey, I have a Hyundai that's coming in.
So I went to him and I was like, Hey, what, any chance you can look over this force
and see if it's a good enough car for us to put money into, to give to a kid.
And so like knowing these people in the community, it's, it's really great
that we can go reach out to them.
And then I have emails all the time of new people, new detailers like, Hey,
I want to donate cleaning one of these cars.
You have 10 this year, you're going to need some help.
There you go.
That's right.
I mean, there's always in, you know, and then on a private level, you know,
if a family wants to donate, Hey, I want to do breaks and fluids on a particular car.
We can do that.
Or if a company wants to sponsor a particular car and donate a car and that's,
you know, be a part of the gifting process when it's given away.
You know, those are the partnerships that, that we're looking for.
The partnerships that we have now really just help us rehabilitate those cars.
You know, everything from fixing window tint to cleaning them up to putting tires on them.
Everything in between is really what we look to do so that they're good to go
for a period of time before it costs them anything.
It doesn't even have to be a car business that wants to be involved.
Texas Roadhouse reached out and Ashley Ruby there is fantastic.
She called me and she's like, girl, what can I do?
So what she actually did was they, their giving committee created gift bags for them.
So they did like a laundry hamper that was full of gift cards for dinner,
gift cards for oil changes, smelly good products for the car.
I mean, it was over $500 worth of stuff in each of these bags.
And she's done it for the last two giveaways.
Yeah, shout out to Enterprise.
Oh yeah, Enterprise did too.
Enterprise and Greg Benner have also, so it's just a, it's just a fun,
fun environment.
Everybody can be involved.
Yeah.
And you just answered my fourth question,
which was what do you attribute to the growth in,
in what is relatively a short span of time and you all just mentioned it.
I mean, it's just like everybody's catching wind of,
of, hey, I want to become involved.
I want to, you know, and, and, you know, I know Eric and when John was here,
I mean, we, we absolutely love going to all these shows and meeting all the people,
you know, Andy Papa with RS experience and, and, you know,
DOS Repri with Autobio and then these things just continue like,
oh, hey, I know this person, person.
And it just decides it wants to take off and go.
So that was the clock.
That was the engine starting.
That's what that was.
We were going to have to start video.
Well, you know what, that's what that's for.
And then, yeah, so, you know, so you had to start somewhere.
How many cars were presented at the first presentation for the first car project
and then how many years has it been since then and you gave those first cars to
and so.
Yeah, we gave two away in June of 2024.
And we've given 12 away total till today.
And we're, our goal is 10 cars for 2026.
Then we have five already.
So we're halfway home.
That's, that's awesome.
And do you stay in touch with the folks that have already received them and how,
and I know we kind of touched that a little bit.
Do they stay in touch with you and how that's impacted their life?
Yeah, so we, I started sending out surveys and messages and touch base.
We're going to start something this year, basically mentorship so that we have
somebody's connected to them that they can feel like they can call and reach out to them
and be like, Hey, there's a weird sound in my car.
What's going on?
I don't know what to do.
No one in my family is into cars or whatever.
So like we want them to be able to call us back and some of them are definitely better
than others.
And I think there's a little bit of trust in there, right?
Like we're, we're strangers for the most part when we try really hard to spend a lot of time
with them leading up to it.
Like we do a training online where we teach them about general maintenance,
budgeting for insurance, how to look up and get insurance, just things,
basic things that, you know, some of these kids might not have exposure to.
And so getting that trust built in the short period of time from after we choose them to
when we give them the car is a, is a little hard, but that's what we're, we're working on.
And so we, I try and send out at least like once every six weeks or so.
I send out text, Hey, how's it going?
And you guys need anything?
What's going on?
You know, now that I'm having 12 kids, it's a little bit harder.
I need a little help.
So if you guys have any of anyone who wants to volunteer to be a mentor for one of our recipients,
we'll definitely taking them.
That program is going to be perfect.
I mean, having the mentors is something they just don't have.
And it can be super simple, very, what we consider to be very simple things that they've never been told before.
You know, how often do you change your oil?
How often what, what happens when this happens or that?
And no one has ever warned them about this could happen.
In fact, we won't use any names, but we have a young lady who got a car and literally drove it till it had no oil left.
I got you.
And that's a problem.
And so we try to, we try to give them, you know, all the, all the heads up we can and, and, you know, but at the end of the day, it's tough.
Yeah.
Well, if you've never grown up with that type of mentorship, you're going day to day, you're taking care of things today, taking care of things tomorrow.
And you're working through life and you haven't had that.
Okay.
Well, and what you're providing is I've got somebody I can call that's going to answer my call, give me a call back, you're going to give me sound advice.
And I'm going to be set on the right path on this, at least on this thing right here.
I've got, I've got support.
So people hold not just one, it's not Eric and Ashley, an entire community has my back.
Right.
Right.
And that's really what we've been trying to do is grow that community.
That's exactly, you know, that, that will be the key for it to, you know, last, you know, long term.
I think you guys have done a hell of a job.
So keep it up.
Yeah.
So far so good.
Yeah.
So far so good.
And, and, you know, more to come, obviously.
Yeah.
Applications are open right now.
I have a call tomorrow to go through and see how many are actually foster kids.
So we work with the state to like verify their status and make sure that they are who they say they are and that they are.
Actually a part of foster care, which was this question is once a young adult is selected to receive a vehicle.
So, so what is the selection process?
How do you qualify to be a candidate for such a wonderful gift?
So you have to be a foster kid in the state of Kentucky.
So we're not currently outside of state lines.
You have to have your driver's license.
You can't just have your permit.
It has to be the license.
18 to 23.
That is the number of the state kind of gave us because it helps that it correlates with their resources.
So that they can verify if the kids are actually in care or not with us.
High school graduate or GED.
Yep.
They are either working or in school.
So they have to show us that they have some sort of income, whether it's financial aid or working a job so that they can eventually pay for the insurance.
Because we also cover that for the first year.
Oh, nice.
Which is extremely expensive.
Yeah.
Okay.
I did not know that that was part of that perk.
Yeah.
I mean, it's such a huge expense for these kids.
And so, I mean, the first quote I got was $3,600 for the first six months.
Wow.
Wow.
And so thankfully we've kind of found a couple partners that will do it for a little bit better of a price.
I got you.
Okay.
And that's the trick is finding cars that are reliable, reasonable, and then also don't kill them on insurance.
Because insurance can be crazy.
If we gave them a 2023 car, it could be several thousand dollars a year.
And so we have to find a gently used car.
Sure.
That kind of accommodates that a little bit better.
Wow.
So when they get a car, it's not just here's the keys and the title.
Because you mentioned the gift basket, because this has also given some shout outs to some of the partners in here.
What all can come?
The years vary.
The cars vary.
But when a young adult, I want to say to kids, well, we're in our fifties.
So anybody's a kid below 30 at this point.
Agreed.
She's a kid.
Yeah, all these kids over here.
She looks like a kid.
But what do they get?
I mean, they get the car, which is huge.
Detailed by one of our passion partners.
So completely inside, outside, pristine, extreme auto sound puts in a backup camera with car play.
And speakers.
And speakers.
Just depending on the car, obviously, not everything gets all of it.
And then insurance for a year, we cover the registration costs, the initial state.
So depending on which county clerk they go to, some will be like, just put $100 on there.
And then they don't charge them registration fees, which is, you know, good advice from the government.
I love it.
However, clerks helping out the kids.
Yeah, I know, I love it.
But then a lot of them also charges full price.
So that could be a couple hundred dollars.
I think the highest I've ever paid was $400 for one of these kids to get registered, which is painful.
Yeah.
You know, so you're like, oh, I got a free car.
Oh, wait, it's $400.
Oh, wait, insurance costs $200 a month.
So my free car.
But the other things that come with it, I mean, yeah, I would say.
Debt and taxes, two things are inevitable.
But the most important thing it gives them is hope.
Yes.
That's what it gets.
There's opportunity.
Right.
And people care about me.
That's right.
There's a lot of love involved in that 100%.
And it's a bunch of goofy people who have cars that have rattle cans for mufflers.
That's right.
It's expletive deleted stickers all over the cars.
And you'd think these scary people, I wouldn't want to see in an alley.
Not really.
That's right.
Not really.
Yeah, it's fun watching them because they come, we give them away at these events.
And so they're next to us like Lamborghini.
They're like, holy cow, that is, that is nice.
I've never seen one of those before and you see their eyes all lit up.
And then, you know, they get to drive away in their own car from the same event.
Which is pretty, pretty cool.
That is cool.
And do they know they're selected when they show up?
Or is it?
They do.
Okay.
They do just because of the paperwork that's necessary.
Insurance and things like that.
So they get the key right then and there's what you're saying.
They're ready to roll.
Okay.
Yeah.
The day before or the morning of, so the red revival we did at the morning of, we had
a lunch and we went over all the paperwork.
Literally, we had already gone over with them, but we do it again in person so they can see
it in front of them again.
And it's a contract.
It's basically saying, you know, like, I'm not going to sell this car because there's
a lien on it for two years.
So we, we don't want them, the state did a similar program and these kids were getting
cars and then selling it and trying to get a Dodge Charger or Challenger or whatever.
Yeah.
You know, this is the whole purpose.
I think Alex says it's, I think Alex probably has the best saying, you know, we're looking
to give a hand up, not a hand out.
Okay.
There you go.
Yeah.
So, um, yeah, I think that's perfect.
Yeah, that is perfect.
Interesting.
Okay.
Um, you know, we talked about a little bit about the growth and, you know, we're so
are you all looking just to stay within the Louisville community, Kentucky community?
Are you looking to expand the first car project out to Sacramento, California?
Or is it just, uh, no, I'm not allowed to answer.
I got you.
I got you.
Yeah.
The answer that is no, um, at least at this point, I mean, we like to say to the moon,
like absolutely to the moon, we want this to grow and to help as many kids as possible.
But, uh, the capacity that we have in our, in our board, like this is all volunteer.
None of us are paid.
How many, how many board members do you have?
We're up to nine.
Up to nine.
Which is wonderful.
So we have, uh, Alex White, Margie Stevens, myself and Eric, we were the original four.
Yep.
Uh, Matt Simons.
Yeah.
Played UofL.
Played UofL basketball player.
I remember.
Um, Todd Fainan.
He was a new addition and then we just added on two mechanics.
Okay.
So, well, Grant Inge.
Oh yeah.
Grant, sure.
And then Phillip Pullen.
Yep.
Both, both those guys.
Both friends of the show.
Yep.
Both friends of the show.
They've really helped us be like, Hey, don't waste your time on that.
That year, that year making model is super rough.
Yep.
Um, and then Devin Linda Meyer, she actually runs and helps to do a lot of, um, marketing
for a ton of charities in the area.
And so she kind of knows and has like a system set up for helping us get our social media
out.
She helped us design.
She was a big addition.
The, the rally rover, the, you know, so she, she's been super awesome.
Um, a super awesome addition just to help us figure out some of the things that we're
missing.
Cause him and I are not social media experts by any mean.
And so having someone who's like dedicated to doing that and keeping, keeping the, the
what is it?
I guess information going, yeah.
Yeah.
And really that, I mean, that leads me to, you know, what do, what can people do if you're
listening to my voice right now?
Right.
And I think number one is share us on social media.
Right.
That's incredibly powerful.
Just that one very simple thing is free and, and you know, that, that's number one.
I think number two is donate, right?
Whether it's five bucks, we call it a high five.
Um, or whether it's 500, um, come to one of our shows.
Right.
Um, and see what we're all about.
And then last show your kids.
Yeah.
Cause they're the future.
Right.
Yep.
And as you share this, all of the listeners share the first car project out there because
that will help grow this to Eric's begrudging.
It'll grow.
It'll continue growing it to where it becomes larger and larger in this.
I mean, gone from two cars.
So the first two cars are given away in 2024.
Since then in two years, it's gone to 12.
There's another five so far in a couple months.
What's the quick math on that, Jason?
Two plus 12 plus five 19 so far.
In two years.
Very good.
So if you keep sharing this, Eric is going to have to continue growing board members.
I've grown board members and you're going to make this program more popular.
It's going to be more known and the knowing about it grows it.
Then you grow partnerships that are outside of the Metro Louisville area.
Then you grow into which direction in the state does it go?
Well, there's a couple other big cities in town.
Uh, and then you get to grow into other avenues of this thing.
I mean, you're, I've said it when I talked to Alex and I talked to you about this,
that this is, this is right now at the first one when you gave the two cars,
when I'm like, this is going to become a national thing.
Yeah, you're good.
Yep.
It doesn't mean that you guys have to run the national program first.
But I told, I'm calling it right here.
Four shadow right here.
But this put a lot, take this to the bank.
I could see there being national chapters of the first car project.
Yeah.
Because once you build the model, framework of it.
Right.
It's, it's portable.
Right.
There is a lot of moving parts and a lot of legal stuff.
Some of the state laws and things change a little bit.
I did help a woman in Georgia actually get something similar started,
but they're, they're in a much smaller, they're on like a one car a year kind of
pathway, but still one kid in Georgia is getting a car.
Yeah.
And it's a start because you have to take, take a first step.
Yep.
You get an elephant one bite at a time.
That's right.
It's not a, let's take on what you guys have done on 12 cars.
So it's, it's an idea of how do you, how would you implement it?
Well, it's being implemented right now by River City Rippers in the first car project.
That's right.
So this is how you can help.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, it's how often do you all meet and where do you meet?
Alex has that brand new nice office over there.
We like to use his little board room, which is fantastic.
We have group texts where we talk about once a week, if not more.
We have different committees.
So we have a car committee, we have a marketing committee.
We have the basically finance committee where we're making sure that all of the receipts
have been sent out, all of the tax forms have been filled in.
So, I mean, there's a lot behind the scenes besides just, hey, let's work on cars and
send them out.
There's, we have a, we have a lot of moving pieces.
And so there's a lot of frequent communication.
Wow.
Yeah.
There's a lot of gears that have to come together to make the engine run.
That's right.
Keeping it in a car.
And that's before we fix the car.
Right.
That's all before we deal with the actual car.
And the kids, so the applications are open now and, you know, last year we had, I think
total 60 applications and we only had, last year we gave a six cars away, eight cars
away.
Eight cars away.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so.
Plus revival.
No, that, yeah, that's right.
And there's two events right now where there's a car presentation.
Rad Revival.
Yep.
And cars in the Commonwealth.
Yes.
Rad Revival happens at Parris Town.
When does that happen?
October.
October 24th.
October 24th.
And the cars in the Commonwealth happens.
July 25.
And where is it?
Hermitage Farm.
It is the thoroughbred farm out in Goshen.
So yeah, year two out there will be super, super fun.
We've got some really cool surprises and I think everybody will appreciate the way that
it's set up this year.
It's the same but different.
And so we're fired up about that.
So let's talk about some shout outs then real quick.
Who would you like to shout out for all this?
Oh my goodness.
There's so many.
It is hard.
Don't let me forget them.
Oh, I got you.
Extreme.
Yeah.
Extreme Auto Sound.
We've said them.
Platinum Auto Group.
So that rally rover that we've received, it was a donation from a family.
I don't have his permission to use his name on the air at the moment.
So I'm not going to say that.
But getting a Range Rover is obviously not a car that's going to go to a kid.
It's full of expensive fixes and it could be a hot mess.
And so.
Yeah, Andrew, the new owner at Platinum Auto Group has been awesome.
And I think it is important that we say new owner because I know they had some struggles
with their previous ownership.
And I will tell you, these folks are amazing.
Awesome.
I mean, they're really good guys.
Yeah, they jumped right in.
Immediately jumped in and said, hey, let us fix this.
We'll take care of it and keep it on the road for you.
There you go.
So it really worked out nicely.
Now we can use it as an advertising for events.
And it's going to be everywhere and it's loud and bright.
We just had it in a parade.
Yeah, it was in the parade.
It was at the Cars and Coffee and Cars and Coffee.
So people get to hear about it and see it because of the donations because there's
no way that we would spend our donated money trying to fix a Range Rover.
That's not a good use of resources.
And nor can we give a Range Rover to a kid.
So we had to get a little bit creative.
And again, Platinum stepped in.
Huge, huge help.
Who else?
German Tech has been amazing.
German Tech, amazing.
Enterprise rental car has been a quiet but amazing partner.
I think there's some legal things you're not supposed to announce.
Sorry.
I can fix anything.
Louisville collision.
You know, the guys at Louisville collision, they're always, we can kind of pick and choose
every now and then when we need something.
And of course paint's kind of a pain.
So we typically lean on them for paint.
Yeah.
We had one that was just had a really bad hood and just made it look worse than it was.
Everything else was really good.
So they repainted the hood for us.
That's just like just a touch that isn't necessary, but they donated it and it was
super awesome and it makes the car look better, which makes the kids want to take care of
it more.
You know, if it's all beat up, they're going to be like, oh, I got a beater.
But when it looks nice, they're going to try and take care of it more.
Absolutely.
But Texas road us is a huge one.
And I was super thankful that she came and reached out to us and she did the gift baskets,
but we just got to apply for their bigger company corporate wide stuff and we were selected.
So I will be making that announcement here shortly.
It's awesome.
Awesome.
Performance automotive, county line, Austin's clean cars, good vibes garage.
Matt Good.
Matt Good.
Matt Good.
Matt Good.
Matt Good.
I was Matt Good.
Yeah.
He's cleaned the car each of the last couple of years.
There's just so many people.
You can list as many people as you want.
If there is a dent, well, then we call Caden, you know, Caden Markle.
We really have gotten so many people to chip in.
And like I said, there's never too little, right?
I mean, if you're a service place out there hearing this, we always need.
Help.
And that's just the reality.
Seek now helped us put up the kids into a hotel room because we're statewide.
So the kids come in and they have to come to a dinner beforehand or a lunch beforehand.
Or they're living really far away and they don't want to drive after being here all day.
And so they've helped us put up the kids in a hotel room overnight.
And so that's, I mean, like that's not a car thing.
That's an extra.
Yeah.
And so, but they've covered that cost for us, which was really cool.
Yeah.
And storage hangers and zeppas.
They let us store cars on their property, you know, when we need, when we're in a pinch,
because she keeps buying, she keeps buying cars.
I don't know what she's got to stop buying more cars.
Part of it.
It really, it's probably the coolest part is that there are that many people participating.
But unfortunate reality is that oftentimes it's once or twice.
So we always have to continue to look for more partners and continue to grow that list.
And, you know, then we can take care of more cars and more kids.
Yep.
That's right.
Well, and it's, and you're talking about, you know, it's a hood.
It just looks a little off, but you know, it's, you're providing a vehicle, you're providing
opportunity, you're providing hope.
And, you know, the gift basket.
Well, what does that, it's creating an experience.
It's not just, it's not just a car.
This is an experience.
This is a, you know, you, well, how else can you describe it?
You've created an experience.
You've created a moment.
Right.
Bigger than just, you know, hear some keys, have a birthday, enjoy your, right.
Yeah.
We want them to realize like how special that they are and that we do care about them and
that there, there is this whole community that's behind them and hoping for their success.
And it's more than a car, the first car project.
It's such, it's, it's more than a car.
That was, that was our like tagline for a while.
And it really is.
This is, this is a, it's a big deal.
And it can be glossed over like, well, you know, we got a car, we got some sponsors,
we fixed it up and we're going to hand it to them.
It's a big deal.
This isn't a little thing.
Yeah.
Well, we hope they.
And I think as people hear more about what, what's fully involved.
That's our goal from this podcast.
I know we've talked about it for a couple of years.
We need to have a dedicated show.
Bring in whoever you want to, you want to come in here, we can have everybody that's involved
in this.
We'll take as much time as you need to do to explain the importance of this, not for
you, but for the young adults that are receiving this.
That's right.
The statistics are, are really daunting and it's hard to even grasp and get the statistics.
But, you know, I think they, they said 45% of these kids, if they are not adopted, if
they are, they are not living with a family member afterwards, they're, they're, they're
at the risk of being homeless is so high.
I mean, and if they're in an area that doesn't have public transportation, if they are in
an area where they're, they can't just walk to work, they don't have anything.
And so, you know, we go statewide, we have a couple of kids in Lexington, a couple of
kids in Bowling Green, actually a couple in London, Kentucky.
And several here and then several locally.
So thankfully there's, you know, some of the local ones, you know, we feel like we have
a little bit better of a grasp on because we can at least say, hey, you're having an issue,
go to Pull & Motors, let him check it out before you do anything else, you know, or to
a county line, you know, we're, we're spreading our wings across town and trying to get as
many as we can.
So like if someone's on the south side, hey, go over to Smooth Finish and see the, they'll
check out your car for you.
But we're trying to find those in all the other places too.
And that could be a challenge for you because you want, you want people that aren't just
in open for business, you need people to have character.
That's right.
People that have a genuine commitment to the bigger picture of what's involved here.
That's right.
That's right.
Well, I mean, we all do it after work, even if we're fixing a car, it's in one of these
folks' shop after work getting, you know, donated time by the, by the guys.
And then there's someone that has to pick that car up and get it to the next place.
So there's a lot of moving around and a lot of, a lot of moving parts, like she said,
but again, that's why we, that's why we're here talking about it, right?
So we can get, get more help.
That's awesome.
It's a passion that we're happy to help anyway we can.
Absolutely.
So how can our listeners get involved?
I know we talked about it earlier.
We always want to, you know, let's, we'll pound it down at least three times.
How do you get, how do we help out with that?
Hey, shoot me an email.
Uh, info at thefirstcarproject.com.
And we, you know, I can connect you with whatever committee that actually works out if you want
to be a part of an event by volunteering in our booth, telling people about it.
Um, if you want, you have ideas for where we should pop up our rally rover and, um,
it's to spread our name.
Um, if you have donation that you want to give to the kids, um, you know, we have,
we're open for all of that.
So shoot me an email and I'll forward it on and we'll answer it myself and see what we,
see what we can do.
Perfect.
Yep.
And what we're hearing there is contact Ashley.
Yeah.
Always.
When did I call her?
Info at thefirstcarproject.com.
There's a couple of us that run that email, uh, which, which helps, you know, cause it
does take a village.
It does.
And it is, I mean, it really is.
You got to, you know, visit our, our Facebook page, share the Facebook page, visit our Instagram,
share the Instagram, you know, the power of social media is, is there if we all do it.
Um, so that, that really is, is one.
And 11 B I guess would be, uh, you know, donate again, high five is, uh, join the
high five club.
Exactly.
$5 a month.
That's it.
Wow.
Well, Eric and Ashley, it has been a, it's been great having you guys here again, join
us this evening and, uh, remember you can find us on our Facebook page at the classic
car corner.
Thanks for listening and happy motoring from your friends here at the classic car corner
podcast.
About this episode
The Classic Car Corner Podcast traces how River City Rivers grew from a COVID-safe driving club into a charity engine—throwing car shows, raising funds, and expanding fast. From there, the conversation shifts to the “first car project,” a nonprofit-style effort that fixes up donated vehicles with help from local partners, adds modern safety tech, and then supports recipients with insurance/registration coverage plus mentorship and online maintenance training. The hosts share eligibility rules, real costs, milestones, and how listeners can get involved.
Original notes
We are excited to welcome Eric and Ashley Benson to discuss how The First Car Project came to exist, and how the car community heard the need, and responded from all aspects of car care and support!
The First Car Project (TFCP) is a nonprofit organization based in Kentucky that is dedicated to assisting young adults as they make the challenging leap from the foster care system to independent living. This transition can present numerous hurdles, with transportation being a significant barrier. TFCP seeks to tackle this issue head-on by offering these individuals a safe and dependable vehicle. Through a collaborative effort with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, TFCP ensures that recipients not only receive a vehicle but also the necessary training to upkeep and service it. With each car granted, we are not just providing transportation, but also opening up a world of possibilities and opportunities for these deserving individuals.
Join us and learn how to get involved and how the local car community has joined together to support this effort.
The Classic Car Corner Podcast
Jason Paynter & Eric Bensel
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