BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — A local pastor turned his skills to repair cars into a solution for a larger problem at hand.
Seven years ago, OnRamp was created to help families in the Brazos Valley who were in urgent need of reliable transportation.
“I worked on these cars and tried to keep them running but I kept running into these single parents who had been scammed in buying horrible cars," said president and founder of OnRamp, Blake Jennings. "One of our first clients was sold a vehicle under false pretense and I opened the hood and the parts were put together with piano wire and duct tape.”
OnRamp works with local charities and organizations to find people in need of their services.
“Some of the common folks that come to us for help single parents they're trying so hard but especially with younger kids all of their income gets absorbed by rent a food and utilities and just the basics of life so that there's not a lot left for a vehicle," explained Jennings. "We frequently serve the elderly so those that are living on a fixed income and maybe that income can cover a lot of the essentials but not a vehicle and they end up getting isolated and trapped. We also serve a lot of medically dependent people particularly folks on dialysis who need a vehicle to even qualify for a transplant.”
In fact, one of OnRamp’s first clients now serves on their board of directors to make sure others are receiving the same aid and assistance.
“At the time I had a child that was going off to Prairie View A&M University and that’s a 45 minute drive and I needed to be able to get her there and I had three other children that had things to do around town and I had to work so getting the vehicle was very helpful I have to drive my car for work now and it’s the same car so its been a blessing,” said Tiffany Thompson.
She now advocates for those who are in the same position she was at many years ago.