Two moms surprised with new cars for Mother's Day

HALETHORPE, Md. (WBFF)— In celebration of Mother’s Day, a Baltimore-based nonprofit called Vehicles for Change, Inc. and Sandy Spring Bank, Inc. awarded cars to two hard-working single mothers on Wednesday.

Tiesha Thompson is a Baltimore City Charter School Tutor from Columbia, Maryland.

For 8 years, Thompson traveled through the Persian Gulf to teach English to young adults before returning home in 2020 to raise her 9-month-old son.

Shaquette Anderson is a mother of three children between the ages of 9 and 23.

Anderson lives in Reisterstown and works down in Anne Arundel County as a school bus driver.

“This is going to mean so much to me because I felt that my little one wasn’t as happy as he was when we used to have a vehicle. “ Anderson said “Having [our] independence back will make me so happy because I know he’ll be happy.”

The partnership between Vehicles for Change and Sandy Spring Bank gives all recipients the ability to afford the vehicles they are awarded.

All the cars given to the families are provided to them at a below value cost of the vehicle they are receiving.

“Getting a bank to do the small loans we need can be difficult because the bank doesn’t make any money and the loan recipients typically have no credit history,” said Martin Schwartz, president of Vehicles for Change. “Sandy Spring Bank saw the need for our organization and said we believe in what you are doing, and we are going to help you by making these loans to those who need them in our communities.”

Each individual loan is between $850-$950, according to a release from Vehicles For Change.

Since Vehicles for Change began working with Sandy Spring Bank in 2012, VFC has awarded cars to 4000 families in Maryland and Virginia.