John Stever, a member of the Ukiah church, believes very strongly in the importance of Christian education. One unique way to help provide a Christian education to young people was Stever’s idea to donate his motorhome. He knew it was valuable, but for the past two years Stever has not been able to take his motorhome out each month like he intended to when he first purchased it. “Education of our children—that is one of my high priorities,” said Stever. “My kids had the benefit of a Christian education, and I want others to have that benefit, too.”
When calculating his monthly expenses and seeing where he could be more efficient, Stever saw that the monthly storage fee, the annual registration, and the insurance were mounting up. He saw that there would be a big benefit if he could sell it. After trying for a few months, he found it very difficult to sell in his area. He then made contact with the Northern California Conference Association, and after a few phone calls, a plan was worked out that would benefit both his local school and the Napa Christian Seventh-day Adventist School on a shared basis.
Stever was glad to learn that his motor home would be used by students to gain some hands-on experience. Stever had owned a lock and key business and enjoyed working with his hands. Now students could learn about how a motorhome is maintained, and this project would not only be an educational project, but would also benefit students directly.
Stever was also pleased to learn the program at Napa Christian had an advantage over many other vehicle donation programs. Napa Christian not only is a qualified charity, but it has incorporated the donations into their educational program by having students learn from the preparation, inspecting and selling of the vehicles. Therefore, the donor can receive the market value of the vehicle instead of the wholesale price, which is often much less than the Kelly Blue Book value. “What a wonderful blessing this has been for me to make this donation of my motorhome and provide an education for our young people of my church,” said Stever. “Now there will be results that will last for eternity.”
In 2003, Napa Christian began an auto donation program to assist worthy students with scholarships. These scholarships, combined with a strong work/study program, help reduce the heavy expense of tuition. All vehicles donated to the school’s program are inspected, cleaned and have light mechanical problems fixed before they are sold or wholesaled. More information about the program and the cars currently for sale can be found at napachristian.com.
