The minivan my kids grew up riding in experienced extensive use, from spilled sippy cups to being the vehicle for learning to drive. After 19 years, there wasn’t much usable car left. To our surprise, when we donated it to Russian Riverkeeper on CarEasy.org, it resulted in a $2,200 donation to support our River!
Our beloved 2007 Honda Odyssey, which served us well as the kids grew up, was showing signs of aging with increasing mechanical issues each year. Many little things inside were broken, from cup holders to the passenger-side rear sliding door that the kids used to love to hang on. We thought it was time to move on to a newer vehicle and part ways with the old minivan.
We quickly learned that auto dealers would only offer $500 in trade, and we felt that since the minivan was still running well, it deserved more. Selling the car seemed like an option, but neither of us had the time, patience, or interest in going through the process of advertising it for sale, finding a buyer, and reaching an agreement on price, etc. Instead, we contemplated giving it away as a donation so we started searching for a place to donate it. We found an organization that took care of all the details in the donation process, allowing us to designate one of many charities to donate it to. It turned out we could set up any charity as a recipient of donation proceeds, so we chose Russian Riverkeeper on CarEasy.org.
Once Riverkeeper was set up as the recipient, it was time to start the donation process. We noted the current mileage, grabbed our vehicle’s registration slip, and entered basic information about the car. In less than 15 minutes, all the information on the vehicle was entered, and CarEasy informed us they would reach out to set up an appointment to pick up the car. A week and a half later, a truck pulled up to our house at the appointed time, loaded up the minivan, and I signed a slip authorizing the donation.
A month later, we received an email that CarEasy had sold the minivan at auction, and Riverkeeper would be receiving a check for $2,200! All in all, it took less than 30 minutes of my time, and the minivan was on to its next life, recycled to a new owner.
Do you have an old car, extra car, boat, or RV you no longer use? Check out CarEasy online at https://careasy.org/nonprofit/russian-riverkeeper. You can easily donate your vehicle, as I did, and designate the proceeds for the Russian Riverkeeper to support our work for a healthy Russian River!
– Don and Vicky McEnhill