Non-profit organization gives Stover veteran a car

Saturday, a Mid-Missouri veteran got a special surprise from a non-profit organization based out of Kansas City.

Cars 4 Veterans gave James Rusk a free car at Midway Travel Plaza to help him transition back into civilian life. Rusk is a seven year veteran of the Army National Guard from Stover and has served two tours overseas.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Rusk said. “I’ve never had something like that happen before so it’s pretty nice. Actually it’ll help quite a bit.”

Shortly after returning home from Kosovo last November, Rusk’s car broke down. Rusk said the new car will help him get to work in Sedalia from where he lives in Stover.

Terry Franz, the founder of Cars 4 Heroes, said about 15,000 people apply for the program every year, and the organization is able to give away about 300 cars to veterans a year.

“It’s just a little way of our way to say thank you to the people who have served our country,” Franz said. “They come back, they struggle a little bit getting back into civilian life. Ninety percent of our cars are donated from the public. We go through them, make sure they’re mechanically sound and they’ll get them where they want to go.”

If you would like more information about Cars 4 Heroes or would like to make a donation, you can visit their website here.