Isaac Taylor, a dad from Sacramento, California, got an amazing surprise recently. A group that helps people in need learned that he had been riding his bike 16 miles to work every day because his car was gone after an accident.
Isaac has five daughters and one son, and he takes care of his two little girls all the time. Losing their car meant he had to ride his bike a long, tiring 16-mile journey every day just to make sure there was food on the table. On top of that, he had to walk his kids to school after work, making his day even harder.
Isaac said, “I had to work a full night shift, which means working at night for 10 hours, and then after that, I had to ride my bike in the early morning. It was very tough.”
He shared that his family has been in tough situations, sometimes not having a place to live. This is why he didn’t mind biking long hours to work and make money. He’s been through a lot, but he always stayed positive, believing that hard times were just steps to reach better things.
Eventually, Isaac’s hard work and positivity paid off. A non-profit group called Family Promise, which had helped him when he was homeless, found out about his story and nominated him to receive a car.
This organization had previously helped Isaac find a place to live with his family, and now they were helping him again, but this time with a more convenient way to get around.
Travelers Insurance donated a car that had been fixed up at Caliber Collision Roseville. This generous act was made possible by the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides Program, which gives cars to people in the community who really need them.
Recently, Isaac and his family received their surprise: a 2019 Hyundai Elantra that came with car seats for his kids. Isaac couldn’t have been happier as he watched his daughter excitedly check out their new car. He said, “I’m going to pick her up from school in this car today. They won’t even recognize me.” His six-year-old was sure to be thrilled about their new ride.
When he saw the car, Isaac couldn’t hold back his tears. They were tears of joy, but also tears that reminded him of the pain he went through riding his bike back and forth. It was a powerful moment for him, realizing how far he had come.
Even though Isaac faces many struggles to provide for his family, he can’t believe his luck. He said, “How can I feel like I deserve it when I know there are people going through worse situations than me? How did I get so lucky?”
Nevertheless, he’s incredibly thankful to everyone who made it possible. He knows that even though there are bad things happening in the world, there are also wonderful people out there. Isaac feels amazing and says he’s living his best life right now.
All of this became possible because of Family Promise, who helped him more than once, and the caring members of his community who came together to make his life better.
In a similar story, a teacher in Los Angeles who also didn’t have a car received a surprise gift from his high school students. Just like Isaac, he had a tough daily commute, and his students decided to raise money to get him a car with the help of some organizations.
You can watch how Isaac and his family reacted to their surprise and how excited they were about their new car in the video linked below.
