Welcome to the eighteenth edition of the David Begnaud newsletter! This week, we’re saluting unsung heroes — high-school students, Good Samaritans, Hindu monks, and the late, great Claudette Colvin. They’re all people who have done the right thing without seeking attention. So, we want a shine a spotlight on them.
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Courtesy: Louisa County Public Schools
“Keys To A New Beginning”
Single parents — especially moms — have it hard. That’s why one teacher and his students at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia have been repairing cars to give to single moms in their community… changing lives one set of keys at a time.
The Heart
Shane Robertson, Louisa County High’s automotive technology teacher, has taken a pretty amazing approach to instructing kids how to change a car’s oil, check the brakes, repair lights, and so much more — turning those restored vehicles into gifts for those that need it most.
The class has partnered with local nonprofit Giving Words, which is focused on providing cars to single moms — a mission inspired by the founders’ own struggles as single parents. While the organization works with several local professional repair shops, Mr. Robertson’s class gets the unique distinction of being the only school program in the area that has been entrusted with the work.
For the past eight years, students have repaired about 30 cars, getting hands-on education in maintenance, electrical work, and, most importantly, human impact. When the vehicles are completed, they’re then inspected by a pro mechanic — a pretty rigorous final exam, if you ask me!
Courtesy: Louisa County Public Schools
Courtesy: Louisa County Public Schools
The Journey
The best part may be what happens after the cars are ready: the students get to present the vehicles to the grateful moms. After Jessica Rader, 40, received a Prius in 2023, she told The Washington Post, “Kids who never met me cared about me enough to put hard work into a vehicle to make sure myself and my kids were safe. I got to meet all of them; it was breathtaking.”
It’s an experience that’s also leaving an impression on the students as much as the moms. Holden Pekary, a 16-year-old in his second year of the automotive program, said “knowing where the cars are going, it gives you more of a purpose.”
It goes to show that doing good has a funny way of making you feel good too.
The Takeaway
Here’s what I think is the most important lesson from Mr. Robertson’s class: learning valuable, employable skills can easily go hand-in-hand with doing acts of service in your community. With a purpose-driven mission set, these kids are inspired to put in that extra elbow grease to give these moms a car that is in tip-top shape and ready to roll out of the garage.
And Mr. Robertson is a living example of what all great teachers do — giving the next generation the tools to both better themselves and better the world around them.
More Good Stories
☀️ A group of 20 Buddhist monks have been on a pilgrimage for over 80 days to walk 2,300 miles from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. — all in the name of peace. The journey has inspired thousands to donate food and resources, raise awareness of their mission, and even join them on their route (which you can do by checking this real-time tracker).
☀️ When emergency calls came in of an overturned 18-wheeler with the driver trapped inside, the Baytown, Texas Fire Department was quickly on the scene to rescue the man… but what they didn’t expect is that they would need to save a dog too.
When life gets hard, what helps you keep going most?
The results from last week’s poll are in! Half of you said that “a sense of duty or faith” is what motivates you to help someone. Talk about a purpose-driven community we have here!
Spotlight: Taking A Stand By Keeping Her Seat
Claudette Colvin, one of the under-heralded heroes of the civil rights movement, sadly passed away at 86 years old last Thursday. I had the honor of interviewing Claudette in her home in 2021, and had the distinct pleasure of organizing a face-to-face meeting with the black judge who expunged her unjust juvenile record. I’ll never forget those smiles.
For those that aren’t aware, Claudette, at just 15 years old, had the bravery to refuse a bus driver’s orders to give up her seat in the colored section of the bus for a young white lady. She told the driver that “history had her glued to the seat” — one of the best lines I’ve ever heard, made more remarkable that it came from the mouth of a teenager defying Jim Crow laws. This was also nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her own seat.
Despite being arrested on charges of assaulting police officers, Claudette’s bravery wasn’t diminished. A year later, she was one of four plaintiffs in a lawsuit that ended bus segregation in Alabama.
The world may have lost a bright light, but having just celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I hope this spotlight serves as another reminder of her extraordinary contribution to making our country live up to its ideals.
The Roadside Guardian Angel
When Juan Omatta and his wife, Adriana, were involved in a terrifying car accident in south Texas, it wasn’t EMTs who first came to their rescue — it was a 19-year-old named Juan Mendoza who was driving by. While Juan and Adriana didn’t get a chance to thank him that day, I was able to reunite them with who they call their “guardian angel” …and brought along a few friends who also wanted to honor Juan’s heroism.
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Made with love by David Begnaud and the team.
Stories that set your soul on fire.
