Client 232: Helping a Caregiver

Last week, our new Coastal Bend branch donated their seventh vehicle to our newest client, whom we’re calling “D.” She shared her amazing story with their local paper, the Victoria Advocate…

When many people might have given up, “D” gritted her teeth and did what she had to in order to make ends meet. Without a car or reliable public transportation, she resigned herself to walk three miles to work and back to ensure care for her 33-year-old special needs daughter. “D gives the impression of one who’s happy-go-lucky but, she has a lot of weight on her shoulders,” Elena Soto, D’s sponsor for OnRamp Coastal Bend, said (pictured above, center, along with OnRamp Coastal Bend volunteers).

For three years, D hasn’t had a car to get to work, to get to the store and to take her daughter to doctor appointments. She’s caught rides from friends to get her daughter to Victoria for her medical needs, ridden a bike to get to the store and woken up two hours early to make the three-mile walk to work.

“It’s been devastating not having a vehicle,” D said. “I lost 67 pounds in the couples of months I walked to and from work.”

That all changed on Friday when OnRamp Coastal Bend gifted her a car. Soto advocated on D’s behalf to the non-profit to help get a set of keys in her hand. This is the seventh vehicle OnRamp Coastal Bend has given away.

“This means the world to me,” D said. “For people that are struggling, this helps, and I know it will help me.”

D has always been there to cheer on her daughter. Whether it was on the sidelines of the football field on Friday nights as her daughter cheered and tumbled, to the wooden flooring of the gym as she spiked a volleyball over the net, D supported her daughter’s effort. But then came the doctor’s office visits when her daughter was diagnosed with a rare bone disease, and a staunch reality set in.

“We never got along when she was younger,” D said. “Kids don’t always see everything you do for them until something happens.”

Since her daughter’s diagnosis, D said she and her daughter have grown closer and their relationship has strengthened. For the past six years, D has been both a mother and a caregiver. Instead of just grocery runs and doctor’s visits, the two women are looking forward to hitting the road and spending quality time together as mother and daughter now that a car has been provided for them.

“We’re gonna go to Goliad and Gonzalez to explore and learn more about Texas history. Hopefully, we will go and see the Alamo in San Antonio,” D said.

On mornings when it seemed impossible to get out of bed, on days when it would have been easier to give up, D indeed got up. It was not only her daughter that kept her going but the love D has for her patients as a home health worker. After years of caring for others, someone has taken care of D, helping her not only get to work in a more timely fashion but also enabling D to give her daughter the freedom she deserves.

“Moms, there is help out there. You just have to ask,” D said.

Article can be found HERE, written by Madison O'Hara, originally published Jun 4, 2025.

To support OnRamp, please visit our GIVE page. To learn more about OnRamp Coastal Bend and support their efforts, please visit the Coastal Bend website HERE.

Aggies and Selfless Service

Among the countless advantages of living in the Brazos Valley, near the top is our access to the talent and dedication of Aggie students, many of whom volunteer with local charities like OnRamp. These students take seriously the sixth and final item in Texas A&M’s core values statement: Selfless Service, giving of oneself for the greater good, without personal gain or recognition. For the dozens of students that worked with us this school year, we can testify that this value of service is not a marketing gimmick or a way to pad a resume, it is a way of life. These students sacrificed substantial time and energy to support and even grow the work of OnRamp in meaningful ways that will bear fruit long after they graduate. Here is an overview of the phenomenal work TAMU students did for OnRamp just this year.

JigSaw 'Em Off

As part of the Business Masters program BUAD 720 Integrated Business Experience class, student groups choose a charity to benefit from a real business they create. This fall, Lily Crawford, Logan Kettle, Steve Olson, Emily Robertson, and Ian Sexton chose OnRamp to benefit from their startup, JigSaw 'Em Off, which sold exclusive TAMU-inspired Benjamin Knox print puzzles. These students spent countless hours developing a business plan, finding a puzzle supplier, licensing the artwork, marketing and selling the puzzles, and then donated all the proceeds to us. They even included OnRamp publicity with every sale to raise greater awareness of our work. This spring, the same group chose OnRamp as their research project for their end-of-degree Integrated Consulting Experience report, and were joined by a second group including Sydney Hunt, Daniel Morrison, Kevin Champagne, and Sean Atun. Their research illuminated multiple areas for improvement at OnRamp including student recruitment, website design, and community engagement. We’ll be implementing many of these findings in the next few months!

BUAD 720 students testing out their JigSaw ‘Em Off puzzle in preparation for sale to raise funds for OnRamp

180 Degrees Consulting

To hone their consulting skills, students from business, engineering, and economics volunteer in 180 Degrees Consulting student groups to provide high level research and consulting to local charities pro bono. To be honest, I did not expect in-depth work since these students were not receiving pay or class credit for their efforts. I was so wrong! Under the seasoned leadership of Olivia Lopes and Aaron Wang, student researchers Stephen Labuda, Payas Joshi, Avi Bhongir, and Karthik Chitta absolutely blew us away with extensive study, detailed analysis, cogent recommendations, and a viable implementation plan for OnRamp’s expansion efforts as we seek to go national. I am not exaggerating when I say that we will be utilizing their Final Report and Implementation Plan for years to come! I still can’t believe they did all that work for free. And they even connected us with two newer 180 volunteers, Drithi Panyam and Joachim Mampilli who are interning with us this summer.

180 Consulting students presenting their final report and implementation plan to OnRamp board and staff

The Strategic Philanthropy Class

Once again, the amazing students of Kyle Gammenthaler’s Business 432 class invited OnRamp to apply for a Strategic Philanthropy grant. After reading through numerous applications and interviews, followed by hours of class discussion weighing the merits of each proposal, they chose OnRamp to receive $20,000! We are so honored by their generosity and trust in our mission. Many former Strat Phil students end up becoming long-term supporters and advocates for OnRamp in whatever cities they move to, meaning that the benefits from this class linger long after the grant money is spent.

Strategic Philanthropy class presenting OnRamp with a grant of $20,000!

OnRamp Interns

Finally, we are so grateful to have students intern with OnRamp every year. They freely volunteer their time and skill to our cause, serving in a variety of specialties. This year, we were blessed to have Sarah Cotter serve as our Marketing intern, Jaxon Rutherford serving as our Campus Liaison, and Luke Bowman serving as our Data Analysis intern where he created a system to track and analyze every repair on every car OnRamp has ever touched!

Cassie's Testimony of Transformation

“I am so grateful for the car, but what I am most grateful [for] is that inside the car OnRamp provided me with my first Bible.” Cassie T

Fifteen months ago, OnRamp gifted a Toyota sedan to our 174th client, a single mom named Cassie who was nominated by the Brazos Valley Financial Fitness Center. Last week, she met with our Care Director, Taylor, to tell us what’s happened in her life since then because of that gift… and it’s stunning!

• Along with the car, she also received from us her first ever Bible and began to read it. She treasures it to this day and it’s helped her grow in her walk with God. With the car, she could attend church, and got baptized 4 months after that donation day! She now attends church regularly with a fellow OnRamp client who has become a close sister in her faith.

• She has been able to visit 3 major cities in Texas and travel with her daughter!

• She is so grateful that in the midst of all these strong thunderstorms, she has been able to pick her daughter up in a car rather than having to walk home in the rain and lightning.

• She was able to build her savings, which helped her weather a difficult job change and stay financially secure.

• She took and passed a test to get into college and begin pursuing higher education! She is saving up to start classes later this year. “My daughter is now 7, so I'm glad she will be able to look at me and see me trying and doing my best in school, work, and being a mom.”

• Every single time she gets in the car, she prays over the drive and other drivers on the road. She says it puts her mind and heart in the right position to drive with kindness and to remember that anytime she arrives somewhere safely- it was a blessing to get there!

The car is never the goal, it’s merely the tool. We are so proud of Cassie for using that donated tool, along with the Bible we placed inside it, to better her life in so many ways. She and her daughter are the reason we do this work, and the reason we are inviting everyone to participate in this summer’s Cruise Control monthly giving campaign as we seek to raise an additional $2500 per month in committed giving. We’ve already raised the first $500! By setting your giving on “Cruise Control,” you provide steady, dependable support that fuels our mission all year long so we can continue to provide for clients like Cassie. Your ongoing gift ensures our clients receive reliable transportation, essential vehicle care, and the support their families need - month after month.

Client 228: A Brenham Entrepreneur

“resilience - noun - the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness”

Once again, we find ourselves humbled by RESILIENCE, strength, and determination of the clients we serve. Our 228th client is a single mom of two children under five who lives in Brenham. She found herself in need of our services after fleeing domestic violence. She bought a cash car that ended up being a lemon, and that left her without a working vehicle. This put her in the tragic catch-22 we see all the time: a single parent in need of more income to buy a reliable car, but unable to get more income without a reliable car. She was stuck. She couldn’t get enough hours at the salon where she worked as a hairstylist.

Fortunately, she has a wonderful and understanding employer who not only nominated her to OnRamp, but also invited her to become the marketing and social media director for the salon, a position that allowed remote work! Her boss told us that her, “dedication to her family and career truly sets her apart. She has worked tirelessly for over three years and has shown tremendous growth, both personally and professionally… [she] has demonstrated a strong commitment to self-sufficiency through her consistent work and the ways she manages both her job and her family. She has steadily increased her knowledge of social media and digital marketing, which has allowed her to make significant contributions to our business.” This young mom plans to build her marketing business, adding clientele and connecting with other entrepreneurs who can help her grow her knowledge and skills. She hopes to build a strong foundation for her children that will allow them to thrive for decades to come.

How could we not accept this RESILIENT woman into our program?! So Monday, we gifted yet another Toyota Corolla to hard-working mom-in-need. We were joined by the team at the Brenham Pregnancy Center who serve moms with young children. They gifted her new car seats and installed them in her new-to-her Corolla! The Sheriff even came out to see what the commotion was, and then stayed to celebrate with us. We are so grateful to serve deserving moms like this!

Client 226: Safe from Harm

“Why are you giving her a car? She brought this on herself.” 

Occasionally, OnRamp receives hateful messages like this when we share about a vehicle donation to a single mom. Some people assume her situation is wholly her fault, and she therefore deserves no help. First off, this idea that we shouldn’t help someone who made a mistake flies in the face of Jesus’ clear teaching (see how He treated tax collectors and ‘sinners’). But second, it fails to recognize that many single mothers are such through no fault of their own. They may be widows. They may have been abandoned. Or in the case of today’s client, they may have been victims of domestic violence, and are single for the safety of their children. 

Today’s client, a single mother of multiple young children who was a victim of violence came to us through an amazing local organization called Methodist Children’s Home in Bryan (MCH for short). MCH equips children, parents, and families to flourish by offering hope through Christ-centered relationships, services, and support. They are the best organization in town at providing trauma-informed parent training, which is exactly what this mom needed. She was introduced to Callie Roe, a case manager who met with her every week to help her heal and grow. 

Through this relationship, Callie discovered a tragic problem many women escaping violence face: the abuser puts all the assets and vehicles in his name. This mom was now car-less and struggled to get to her job and her kids to appointments. So Callie nominated her to OnRamp and we gladly gifted yet another Toyota Corolla to a hard-working mom in need! We are so blessed to work with organizations like MCH to help deserving families in need in the Brazos Valley!

Methodist Children’s Home Bryan Family Outreach Director, Jessycah Carroll (right) with MCH advocate, Callie Roe, in front of the wonderful Corolla this deserving mom received.

Huge All-OnRamp Win

Friday night at Caffe Carpi

This past weekend, we had the joy of hosting our first All-OnRamp Conference here in College Station! We welcomed teams from OnRampDFW, OnRamp Coastal Bend, 3in1 Mechanical Ministries in Houston, and Middleman Ministry in Waco for two days of connection, collaboration, training, and encouragement.

We kicked off with great food and fellowship at Caffe Capri Friday night (thank you to our board member, Rami Cerone, for opening his wonderful restaurant to us!) On Saturday, we spent a full day together learning and growing. Through breakout sessions focused on client care, marketing, fundraising, and overall operations, we had the opportunity to share best practices, ask honest questions, and dive deep into how we can better serve our communities through this unique ministry. We laid the groundwork for each organization to continue to grow to serve more hard-working people in need as a tangible expression of God’s grace. Hearing each other’s stories, challenges, victories, and visions left left us energized and unified in our mission.

One of the most meaningful moments came at the end of the conference when we gifted former client Scott his Tier 1 Corolla. Long story short: OnRamp was gifted a Nissan that didn’t have much life left. Rather than sell or salvage it, we asked Scott to steward it to the end of its life to get the most out of this gift. He took great care of it for the next 8 months and used it to get a promotion at work and continue his ministry to other men at his church. Now that the Nissan’s life is done, we gifted him his long-term car, a low mileage Toyota that should last him many years. And then, since Scott is our brother-in-Christ, we asked him to pray God’s blessings over all of us so we can continue this vital ministry.

Scott (center) with board member and prayer partner, Matt (left) and OnRamp founder, Blake (right)

As Scott prayed for us, so we ask you all to continue to pray for OnRamp, 3in1, and Middleman Ministries and all the clients we serve. Pray that God would continue to multiply the workers, for the harvest is plentiful. Pray that He would help us launch OnRamp in new areas that have no automotive ministries so that God may be glorified as people in need find both earthly HELP and eternal HOPE.

An OnRamp SUV for a Uvalde Survivor

On May 24, 2022, a young man fatally shot 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. One of those young victims was the daughter of OnRamp’s newest client, Monica. This single mother of three daughters lost her youngest as well as a cousin in the shooting. Tragically, her daughter was a twin, and the surviving twin now struggles with unimaginable trauma, as does the whole family. In addition, Monica is an amputee who needs frequent medical attention. Doctor and therapy appointments are absolutely essential for this family, but became impossible when their old pickup truck died. With medical bills piling up, they desperately needed help.

Fortunately, the Red Cross and Hill Country MHDD nominated this deserving family to OnRamp. While Hondo, their current home west of San Antonio, is well outside our geographic area, we decided to make an exception in this extraordinary situation. We were so impressed with Monica’s resilience and with the tenderness and commitment of her advocates at Hill Country. We just had to say ‘yes.’ Thanks to Joe Dewolf, we found a Toyota Highlander that could fit Monica and her family as well as her wheelchair. They now have the reliable vehicle they need to continue the long path of healing in front of them.

Monica in her new-to-her 2012 Toyota Highlander - plenty of room for her family and her wheelchair.

A donated vehicle cannot heal the deepest of wounds or trauma, but it can ensure that a family has access to the lifesaving care they need. We are so very blessed to play a role in this family’s journey. Thank you for making this possible!

Monica is our 224th client and hopefully the first of many in the greater San Antonio area. We are actively recruiting a launch team for OnRampSanAntonio, so please contact us if anyone you know might want to be involved.

To help OnRamp continue this vital ministry, please consider joining us THIS SATURDAY at our 3rd annual Drive with OnRamp from 4-7pm at TopGolf. Tickets and silent auction are accessible here: https://e.givesmart.com/events/GSx/

Pictures and story shared with client permission.

Client 223: Addict to Advocate

“I love my clients until they can love themselves,” says Audrey, the 223rd person to receive a vehicle from OnRamp Brazos Valley. This single mother and grandmother serves as an Operations Technician for More than Rehab, a local addiction recovery treatment program. Her passion is to provide individual care and support to people fighting drug or alcohol addiction. This is a ministry Audrey understands firsthand as a former addict who has now been sober for six years. After working hard to establish her own stable sobriety, she joined the team at More than Rehab to serve others in the fight. She is now enrolled in college to become a licensed chemical dependency counselor so she can provide even more skilled help to her clients.

However, Audrey’s ability to get to and from work and to provide for her family was jeopardized when her old Ford pickup, a gift from her late mother, broke down beyond repair. While she earns enough to pay the bills, she simply couldn’t afford to purchase a replacement vehicle. That’s when her friend and mentor nominated her to our program. We interviewed her and gladly accepted her, knowing that by giving her a reliable vehicle, not only would we bless her and her children and grandchildren, we’d also bless the many people in rehab that look to her for guidance, prayer, and encouragement.

We are so blessed to serve fellow servants like Audrey, who follow Jesus by ministering to people at the moment of their greatest need! If you’d like to help us serve more deserving people like her, please consider joining us next Saturday, April 5th at Drive with OnRamp at TopGolf. Tickets are $50 each and include play from 4-7pm, dinner, and full use of the facility including mini-golf. Significant discounts are available for groups of 6 or 8 who rent a full bay. Purchase tickets HERE. Email stephaniem@onramptx.org with any event-related questions you have.

A Beach, an HEB, and a 5 Mile Walk

We’ve had three donations the last couple weeks to clients whose identities we need to keep confidential. But we can share snippets of what these cars mean for them:

• For client 220, the Toyota we gave her allowed her to take her daughter on their first ever vacation together! They went to the beach at Galveston for three days and took the lovely photo above. We tend to measure the impact of a gifted vehicle in the tangible essentials, such as getting a person to work, school, or the doctor's office. But it's these non-essential journeys, like a first-ever vacation, that form the memories this mother and daughter will cherish for decades. For those of us who are parents, can you imagine what it would feel like to never take your child on a vacation because you couldn't afford a vehicle to get there? Thanks to your generous donations to OnRamp, that is no longer this mom's reality!

• For client 221, the Camry we gifted this young man means he can now get to his new job at HEB. He was nominated o our program as a reward for exceptional achievement in school. But with no family support and living miles out in the country, employment was virtually impossible. Now he's got the tool he needs to earn a living and prepare for a strong future.

• For client 222, a husband and wife, this vehicle now means the husband does not have to walk five miles each way every day to work. Can you imagine that walk?! In August when it’s 105 degrees outside? In February when it was 20 degrees? Now he and his wife have safe, reliable transportation to help them better their careers and build their future.

Reliable vehicles transform lives. That’s OnRamp’s mission, but we need your help. We have many tickets still for sale to our upcoming Drive with OnRamp event Saturday April 5th from 4-7pm at Top Golf. All proceeds go to OnRamp to help us buy more vehicles to help more hard-working local clients in need. Tickets are $50 each, but include 3 hours of play, dinner, and full use of the facility (including kid-friendly mini golf and a scavenger hunt), and discounts are available for buying a whole bay of 6 or 8. And if you buy tickets by March 29th, you're automatically entered in our raffle to win a gift basket (Beach Day, Kids, or Date Night baskets). Just go HERE to buy.

If you can share this with friends and help us spread the word, that would be so helpful!!!

Client 220: Praying for Big Things

Last week, we gifted a reliable car to a single mom in need whose identity we need to keep totally private. But what we can share is the lesson on prayer she’s taught us. While waiting for her paperwork to be completed, we had the honor of chatting with her Advocate, Shawna, who has championed and encouraged this sweet mom through the last few years. As we were talking, she said that there had been many conversations about how to, "Pray for big things. Expect that God can do it, even a car." Another friend also chimed into that conversation to say that, "If a car is what you need, God can provide it. Pray specifically for a car that is reliable enough to get you where you need to be." Our client wrestled with this big prayer. Was it selfish or materialistic to ask God for something like a car?

A few weeks later we gathered at the tax office to watch her receive the keys to a new-to-her, low mileage, reliable Toyota. Five days later, she wrote us to say,

“I just wanted to thank you again for the amazing gift of the car—I can’t express enough how much it’s meant to me. We’re loving it so much, and it’s a huge relief to know I no longer have to worry about whether or not my car will start. Since having reliable transportation, I’ve been able to sign my daughter up for cheer class and she’s also joined Girl Scouts! It’s such a weight off my shoulders.”

What a reminder that our God hears, sees, and cares about our specific needs, whether they be big or small. He's a good Father, who loves to give good gifts.

How did God answer this sweet sister’s prayer? Through many of you! You donated the funds that allowed OnRamp to purchase this Toyota out of Colorado. You gifted the money to pay for repairs both before donation and for the next year of her support. And you donated to cover the salaries, insurance, and logistics for the OnRamp team to make all of this possible. We are so, so grateful that you allowed God to use you to answer this woman’s sincere prayer!

If you’d like to support our ministry AND have a great evening of fun with your family, tickets are now on sale for our April 5th Drive with OnRamp at TopGolf. All proceeds from the event and the silent auction will go directly to local families in need of reliable transportation. Whether you’re looking for a family night out, a fun time with friends, or a date night, this is the perfect opportunity. Click HERE to buy tickets.

Client 219: Navy Veteran Walking 8 Miles a Day

Our 219th client, who will remain anonymous, is an honorably discharged Navy veteran who lives in Brenham. This single mom of two children, one with special needs, exemplifies one of the essential characteristics we look for in all OnRamp clients: willingness to work hard even before receiving a vehicle. Want proof? She got a job as a tax preparer, but it was four miles from home. So she has been walking eight miles a day, every workday, rain or shine, and that is with bad knees and through constant pain. She walked that eight miles a day last week when the temperature was in the 20’s!

No working mother should have to walk hours a day on top of working full time and raising her kids. Fortunately, her advocate at the Veterans Service Office in Washington County heard about OnRamp and nominated her to us. She applied, passed our interview, and was welcomed into our program. That’s when our partners at Brazos Valley Cares, a local veterans support organization, stepped in to donate $5,000 towards purchasing a vehicle for this worthy veteran. OnRamp doubled their gift and we purchased, repaired, and prepped a great Toyota sedan that we donated to her yesterday. Her first stop after the tax office was the grocery store. For the first time in months, she’d be driving her groceries home rather than walking all those miles with bags in tow!

Our founder, Blake (left), with this client’s advocate, Eric, who helps coordinate veteran assistance in Washington county.

Thank you to Joe Dewolf for finding the vehicle, Christian Brothers for prepping it, and, once again, Brazos Valley Cares for your generous and amazing partnership on this vehicle!

OnRamp's Future

“So you want to launch an OnRamp in your community? Here’s how!”

So begins one of the most important projects in our charity’s history. Over the last few years, so many charities, schools, and churches outside of the Brazos Valley have reached out to us to nominate hardworking people-in-need to our program. It grieves us to have to say, “we can’t serve you yet.” There are a few exceptions: OnRampDFW and OnRampCoastalBend can serve their respective communities, and our partners 3in1 Mechanical Ministries and Gods Garage can serve some in the Houston area. But outside of that, there’s no one. San Antonio, Austin, Waco/Temple… nothing. Tulsa, Kansas City, Denver, Washington DC… nothing. This should not be.

OnRamp hopes to inspire, train, and launch teams throughout the country to plant OnRamp ministries in their communities! To this end, we are working on the following:

1. Build a Launch Playbook, a single repository of all the policies, procedures, documents, trainings, and assets needed to launch a new OnRamp anywhere. We hope to have version 1.0 complete in the next six weeks. We may even train an AI virtual assistant to help new OnRamp volunteers use this extensive resource!

2. Host our first (hopefully annual) All-OnRamp Conference, inviting the DFW, CB, and 3in1 teams mentioned above to join us in College Station for a weekend of encouragement, prayer, training, problem-solving, planning, and resourcing.

3. Launch an OnRamp National organization to carry this expansion work forward. I (Blake) will likely dedicate more and more of my time to this effort. I hope to catalyze the launch of OnRamp-type ministries throughout the U.S. in this next phase of my life :-)

OnRamp Launch Playbook version 1.0 coming together fast!

What is needed to make this dream a reality. First, prayer. We need something only God can provide: passionate, Christ-following volunteer leaders in each community we hope to expand to. These volunteer leaders don’t need to know much about cars, but they do need to love people-in-need. They would be our boots-on-the-ground in each location to help identify, screen, and serve clients, raise funds, coordinate with local charities and churches, manage the books, and coordinate with our national office. If you know of potential people like that, particularly in the San Antonio, Austin, Temple, Waco corridor, please let us know!

Second, we will need a few philanthropic “venture capitalists” to help get the national office off the ground. We don’t want this expansion effort to take ANY funds that currently go to our Brazos Valley OnRamp ministry. There are still so many deserving, hard-working clients to serve here! So this would be a new investment, ideally from people who want their charitable giving to make a national impact that will outlive them. I’m talking about people who think like venture capitalists, but are willing to trade monetary profit for eternal impact. My shoot-the-moon hope: a few of these philanthropic venture capitalists would commit together to donate $250k a year for three years to launch OnRamp National. Maybe that’s a pipe dream… but just imagine the impact for Jesus we could have if the 220 clients we’ve served in His name in the Brazos Valley were replicated in every city in Texas… or even every city in the United States. Tens of thousands of families struggling to get to work, the doctor, or their kids to school would suddenly have HOPE provided in the name of Jesus. That seems like a worthwhile dream to me! Let me know if you agree.

Client 217: In Her Own Words

Last week, we gifted a car to our 217th client, a sweet young woman from Madison County named Hailey (on the right in the picture above) who works as a Special Education Paraprofessional in her local school district. Here’s her story in her own words…

I try to keep my struggles private, but this is too good not to share.

Back in August, my car broke down, leaving me with no vehicle to take my younger siblings to school or get to work. This caused a lot of tension with work and my family because I was very much having to rely on borrowing their vehicles to get to work. The car I was now driving was unreliable and it scared me half to death anytime I had to drive it further than 5 miles.

At a birthday party, my sweet Amber (her advocate, to the left in the picture above) briefly mentioned this organization called OnRamp and I told her I would look into it (but my forgetful self never did). A couple weeks later, she hit me with the “please don’t be mad at me…“ and told me that she had nominated me for OnRamp! I panicked and instantly started researching.

I discovered that OnRamp is an incredible organization that assists individuals whose circumstances weren’t favorable enough to have a vehicle. They provide support to help these individuals continue to succeed and grow by alleviating that burden.

I filled out the application and a couple weeks later I go through and complete the interview process. I knew God had good intentions with this whole experience when we got to the final question in the interview. The interviewer asked me, “How can I pray for you?” When I tell you I CRIED like a baby, I am not exaggerating. I could feel the tension and struggle lift off my shoulders.

We waited a couple weeks and I finally heard back saying that I was accepted to receive a vehicle! I just had to wait for them to find the perfect vehicle. Last week, it finally was found!

Today, we drove to the courthouse to meet the OnRamp founder and one of his awesome volunteers, and he gave use the keys to my brand new (to me) car!! He asked me where the first place I was going to drive my new car to was, I panicked and said “to sonic to get a drink with my sister” Well let me tell you, that was the best Diet Coke I’ve ever had because I drove my new car to get it!!

Today, I was met with so much generosity, which showed me that there are still kind and compassionate people in our world. I am truly blessed by OnRamp, Amber, my momma, and everyone else who is always there to help and support me.

Our clients are some of the most deserving, most inspiring people we know. If you’d like to help us serve more wonderful women like Hailey, please consider participating in our upcoming Drive with OnRamp fundraiser April 5th at Top Golf! We are looking for businesses and private donors to help us raise $60,000 through purchasing bays at this event. See the sponsorship menu below. By underwriting a bay, you enable us to gift reliable vehicles to more hard-working local clients this year.

All sponsorships include publicity for businesses in social media and print. Gold and silver sponsorships include one or two bays along with dinner and play for you and your family, friends, or staff. Bronze sponsorships include publicity but not bays. If your business, church, organization, family, or friend group can sponsor one or more bays, please email Stephanie Mason at StephanieM@onramptx.org. And please spread the word to others. We hope to have sponsors for all 60 bays!

Finally, if you our your business can donate an item to our silent auction for this event, please let email Stephanie at the address above. We’re looking for gift certificates to great restaurants, unique experiences, autographed sports memorabilia, fun household items, fine beverages, jewelry, service credits, and more.

A Belated Christmas Gift for Colton

OnRamp staff and volunteers gather to pray over Colton and Chrysta before gifting their van.

Yesterday, God moved a mountain for thirteen-year-old Colton and his heroic aunt Chrysta. Colton was born with hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, cortical blindness, severe spasticity, epilepsy, and seizure disorder, which has left him nonverbal and non-mobile. Tragically, Colton's mom, Jennifer, passed away in 2021 from Stage 4 Cancer. Chrysta then stepped in and adopted Colton, and now serves as his caregiver. Due to Colton's severe health issues, Chrysta needs to transport him to Houston often for specialized care, but they lacked a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, making these trips nearly impossible. Unfortunately, these vehicles are incredibly expensive and beyond what Chrysta could afford.

This is where OnRamp comes in. Rusty Surette at KBTX shared this need with the community, and concerned citizens sent it to us. We invited Cheryl, one of Colton’s nurses, to nominate this deserving family to our ministry. We interviewed Chrysta and were so impressed with her selfless service and her willingness to put her own life on hold to care for her nephew, that we committed to raise the money, whatever it took, to buy her a wheelchair ramp van.

Colton trying out his new van!

This is where Bryan/College Station enters the story. We expected this campaign to take months since these vehicles are so expensive. Instead, it only took a few weeks! Over 100 local donors stepped up to provide more than $20,000 to meet this need. With that money, OnRamp found a mint-condition Honda Odyssey ramp van in Colorado with only 23,000 miles on it, and the seller cut us a great deal! Fun story: the guy who helped us buy the van is an Army vet and to get the van fully serviced for Colton, he took it by the Air Force Academy garage which volunteered to do all the required work at a massive discount. It was great to see Army and Air Force linking arms to serve this sweet family!

Yesterday, we had the privilege of gifting this van to Chrysta and Colton in front of their family, supporters, and friends. As always, we also gift maintenance support for their first year of their ownership along with ongoing prayer and resourcing. We are so grateful to see how God worked through us and through you all to meet this critical need faster than we ever expected. Thank you for caring for Colton! Thank you for supporting OnRamp!

Note that this is OnRamp’s 216th client to receive a free vehicle. All pictures and details shared with client’s permission. To donate towards the next hard-working clients awaiting vehicles, visit our Give page.

KBTX News January 28th 10pm story about Colton’s donation.

First Donation of 2025!

Today we completed our first vehicle donation of 2025… and our 214th client so far!

We are keeping this client’s identity private, but want to celebrate God’s graciousness. A local family had this very low mileage Buick Enclave just sitting in their driveway after the elderly owner no longer needed it. Rather than sell it, they donated it to OnRamp, which allowed us to bless this client far beyond expectations. This vehicle is soooo nice! Leather, power-everything, smooth as butter on the highway, roomy, and less than 50,000 miles. God didn’t have to provide something so nice; but He did because He loves to give His kids nice things :-)

We are praying for our biggest year ever in 2025, both here in the Brazos Valley and throughout Texas. If you or someone you know has a vehicle no longer being utilized by an older family member, please consider donating it to OnRamp, or selling it to us at a reduced price so we can bless more hard-working local clients in need of reliable transportation. For details, click here.

2024 By The Numbers

“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

2024 has given us at OnRamp so many reasons to give thanks to the Lord! Here’s a look at the impact He’s allowed all of us to make this year:

• 41 hardworking new client families received vehicles, along with 12 months of maintenance and pastoral care to help them thrive.

• 67 children benefited from these vehicles, making it possible for them to attend school, access medical care, and stay connected with loved ones.

• 22 single mothers were empowered with free vehicles, helping them provide for their families and build a brighter future.

• Our new branch in Victoria, TX proudly served its first three clients, extending our reach and impact to even more communities.

• Our OnRamp DFW affiliate served 15 new client families, their biggest year ever, and added their first staff member.

Thank you to everyone who made this year a success. We couldn’t have done it without your support! Let’s keep the momentum going in 2025 so that more and more Texans can experience God’s grace through the tangible gift of reliable transportation.

Our hope in 2025, Lord-willing, is to see OnRamp expand to new geographic areas such as Austin, San Antonio, and Waco. May it be so!

Client 213: A Survivor Overcomes

This brave mom (name withheld for safety) and her two young daughters fled domestic violence earlier this year and arrived in Bryan/College Station to build a new life. They moved in to Twin City Missions’ shelter and participated in their housing program, but didn’t want to stay there for longer than necessary. Even though this mom has been through severe trauma, she simply won’t give up. She now works 13 hour days plus weekends to provide for her girls, and as a result, they’ve been able to move into an apartment of their own. However, she has no vehicle and no family to rely on, which has made life incredibly challenging.

Her case manager at Twin City Mission noticed this mom’s desperate need for a reliable car, and so, nominated her to OnRamp. Her case manager shared how impressed she was with this mom’s honesty, hard work, and faithfulness to attend peer support group meetings every week even without a car to drive there. This is precisely the type of client we look for, and we immediately accepted her into our program. How could we say ‘no’ to a survivor like her?!

Last week, we gifted a reliable Honda Civic to this deserving mom and her daughters. When asked what she was most looking forward to doing with the new car, she said, “Take my girls to the park!” When you don’t have a car and Uber costs an arm-and-a-leg, discretionary trips like taking your kids to the park become a luxury mom’s can’t afford. She couldn’t wait to take her girls to Central Park for the first time to see the Christmas lights.

There are so many more deserving, hard-working parents like this in need of reliable vehicles in 2025. Can you help us serve them by making a year-end donation to OnRamp? We have a matching gift of $13,000 provided by two long-time donors. Please help us claim this matching gift by donating to OnRamp HERE between now and the end of the year. Every dollar helps transform lives for generations to come.

Client (in blue) with her advocate (middle) surrounded by (from left), OnRamp board member, Rami, Client Care Director, Taylor (with just one of her triplets!!), Prayer Team lead, Diane, and President, Blake.

Pictures and story shared with client permission.

Looking into the Future: Robotaxis

What does the future hold for automotive charities like OnRamp? I’ve spent a few days researching that question and crunching numbers, and the results may surprise you. We may be a charitable fleet of robotaxis in the not too distant future! Let me explain.

In the chart below, you’ll see a comparison of total costs over five years for two main options OnRamp may have in the future: continuing to gift a vehicle to a client vs. subsidizing a rideshare program such as Uber or Lyft. The costs for donations and repairs all reflect current 2024 numbers in our charitable program, through 212 vehicles donated so far.

Not surprisingly, the winner completely depends on client miles per year and cost per mile in the rideshare option because in that option, total price is 1:1 (highly) dependent on those two variables. Current national rideshare average cost is $2.40 per mile with Uber and Lyft, and BCS is a bit higher because trips are short and supply of rideshare vehicles is low. I calculated an average of $3 per mile over a set of sample Bryan/College Station trips. At that price, the rideshare option is a non-starter, costing multiple times our current program costs to donate and support vehicles. Note that the costs are totaled for five years rather than one year since our plan has always been to give 5 years of reliable transportation to our clients. Typically the donated car is used up and worth next to nothing at the end of that time, which is why I have not included it as an asset to sell at the end of five years.

But here's where it gets interesting. Tesla has stated that their autonomous taxi will cost $.30-40 per mile as a rideshare fleet vehicle. That's staggeringly low, even beating public transport per mile. For some safety margin, let's double that cost to $.80 per mile. The rideshare option actually becomes quite compelling for clients needing less than 10k miles per year. If Tesla actually succeeds at hitting $.40 per mile, I don’t see us ever giving a vehicle away again except in special circumstances such as very large families, work trucks, or wheelchair vehicles. To service most clients, we would simply provide free or subsidized rides through a fleet of autonomous robotaxis that we either own or lease.

So what do you think? Where am I off? What options or critiques would you add to the conversation?

And on that note, does anyone know anyone at Tesla who would want to discuss this? A partnership between Tesla and an automotive charity like OnRamp could help thousands of struggling individuals and families access essential transportation, and could create significant positive publicity for Tesla. There’s a real win-win opportunity here if we can ever get a foot in the door!

Hard Work Brings Success for Jae

Here is a massively encouraging success story for your lunchtime read! Jae has been an amazing OnRamp client this past year, and we want to update you on her progress now that she has her donated vehicle.

This single mom of three had done everything in her power to create a safe and flourishing home for her children even before getting her OnRamp vehicle. She completed Reach Project’s 28-week Entrepreneurship class and worked through Brazos County’s Family Self-Sufficiency program. That hard work motivated her mentor to nominate her to OnRamp for a minivan, which we gifted her one year ago.

What has she done with that vehicle? She’s completed two additional employment certifications which led to a substantial raise at work! She’s now a repair technician who changes the oil for all the CSISD buses we see around town. Before the vehicle, she was earning $2800 per month and needed government benefits to make enough to cover her bills. Now a year later, she earns $4000 a month in her new job; $5000 when overtime is authorized! She works every hour she can get, and as a result, is almost fully off of all government assistance. She has also enrolled in the Reach Project’s Home Ownership program to help her one day buy a home. The OnRamp van gets her to classes and to work, and gets her kids to church every Sunday. Speaking of her kids, with that raise at work, she’s been able to open a savings account for her kids to go to college! She’s using this vehicle to unlock a new and better future for her kids, and she’s taking great care of this investment by attending OnRamp’s Car Care Clinic to learn how to maintain her vehicle and ensure it lasts as long as possible. In the world of charitable work, you will rarely see such a high rate-of-return as this investment in Jae’s life!

To help OnRamp serve more clients like Jae, please consider donating to our Hand Up end-of-year campaign. And if you are one of the first to donate $500 or more, you will receive a *free*, exclusive Benjamin Knox Texas A&M puzzle as our thank-you! Here’s the link to the puzzle donation. This puzzle is perfect for the Aggie fan in your life. These limited-edition puzzles are available on a first-come, first-served basis until all 20 are claimed. Want to donate more than $500 and still receive a puzzle? Simply select “Custom Amount” while making your donation and enter any amount above $500. Spread holiday cheer and make a difference!

Happy Thanksgiving to Client 212!

Today we give THANKS for Willie, a 78-year-old widow in Bryan who just became OnRamp’s 212th client!

Willie is such a kind and loving woman. She sings in her church choir and serves with her Empty Nesters Sunday School class at First Baptist Bryan. After Willie’s husband died, she was left with significant financial challenges made tougher by her lack of a vehicle. She couldn’t reliably get to doctor’s appointments, church, the grocery store, and could not seek out a job to help supplement her fixed income. As her advocate, Jim, stated, “She wants to have the freedom to go back and forth without being a burden to others, especially her church - she loves her church and she loves to sing in the choir.”

Fortunately, Jim and the rest of her Sunday School class found out about OnRamp and nominated her to us. She was a slam dunk applicant! How could we not help this deserving woman?! So yesterday we gifted a beautiful blue Toyota Corolla to Willie, purchased with funds donated by many of you! Willie could hardly believe how God had so thoughtfully provided for her, and couldn’t wait to show her new wheels off to her Sunday School class.

Board and Vehicle Team member Rami Cerone showing Willie the features of her new Corolla.

As we enter into Thanksgiving, we invite you to give thanks with us for how God has used and continues to use OnRamp to care for widows like Willie. Who would have thought He’d allow us to donate reliable cars to over 200 Brazos Valley clients in just seven years?!

This is also the season when we, like all charities, need to raise most of our annual budget. If you can make a year end gift to OnRamp as part of our Hand Up campaign, please visit our GIVE page. You can donate online or by check, stock or RMD transfer, or by donating a used vehicle. Also, visit our new STORE to buy OnRamp shirts and hats to help us spread the word and connect with more supporters as we seek to grow throughout Texas.

Rami with Willie (center) and her advocate Jim (right).