The Ride of a Lifetime

By Ashley Tieperman

If you felt a nudge to donate your 1965 Mustang to support a student’s education, would you be willing to let your prized possession go? One anonymous donor did just that to bless students in the SchoolWorks program at IBC and showed us all what it looks like to hand over the wheel with a heart of radical generosity.

This past fall, students at Sam Houston Middle School rallied around as a classic hot rod pulled up with red, white, and blue balloons to announce the big news: One (or more!) students would receive the ride of a lifetime thanks to the proceeds of this Ford Mustang that would head to a local auction. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, wanted to bless the students at Sam Houston who were part of the SchoolWorks program with a scholarship by selling his car.

The SchoolWorks program is the result of the Church asking public schools a simple question, “How can we serve you?” At IBC, we’ve joined a group of churches across the DFW metroplex who are committed to bridging the gap between the Body of Christ and public schools in our community. We believe in the power of partnership to bring real transformation to individual students and entire school districts.

These scholarships come at a very critical time in these students’ developmental stages. During their middle school years, students must tackle decisions that can impact the direction of their lives. SchoolWorks provides mentors who offer wisdom and a listening ear during this important transition time when students are building their foundations.

And when eighth-grade students are presented $20,000 college scholarships, they receive the drive to persevere and hope for a future college education.

“The scholarship means a life transformation for a student. To know that their hopes and dreams of going to college, many the first in their families, is actually attainable is a game changer for them,” said Lindsay Hamilton, SchoolWorks Coordinator. “I love the look in their eyes when they know they have something they could have never imagined come true. To see them work towards that goal is so inspiring.”

On November 4, the car sold at the Mecum Car Auction for $47,000! This donation will provide two-and-a-half full-ride SchoolWorks Motivational Scholarships for 8th grade Lunch Buddies at Sam Houston.

At IBC, we believe that this generosity has a ripple effect on the transformation of our city. When one student’s life is changed, the hope spreads. We’re committed to helping people move out of the feeling that they are stuck and hopeless. Transformation takes time, but we believe that it’s possible for our city when we focus on blessing our neighbors.

Find Out More About SchoolWorks

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