Indiana Dealer Donates Car To Family Dealing With Toddler’s Cancer

A dealership in Fort Wayne, Indiana saw an opportunity to help, and didn’t hold back. Their outreach is a strong example of a dealer doing good and acting as a part of their community. Glenbrook Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram made local news headlines. They are a dealership that caught on to the importance of reaching out to a family in dire need of help.

Local TV station WANE.com reports Joe Conner had a major problem. He needed to get to the local hospital on a regular basis, but his method of transit was not reliable. Conner was driving a 1999 Lincoln Continental. The vehicle was constantly breaking down and needing expensive repairs; work that Conner said he couldn’t afford. Conner needed to have a reliable method of transportation not for him, but for his son. He needed to take his 3-year-old son to the hospital for his cancer treatments. His son Evan was undergoing treatment for Leukemia. Between the hospital bills, the boy’s father could afford to keep the 15-year-old Lincoln running all of the time. For help, he reached out to a longtime friend who is now a car dealer.

Matt McKibben was that friend. McKibben, who went to high school with Joe Conner, is the current General Manager at Glenbrook Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram. McKibben told WANE the decision to help the family happened relatively quickly. McKibben told the local news, “It felt right. I thought, you know what, you can’t go wrong trying to help out a young man like this. Didn’t have to get too many yeses before I went ahead and said let’s … you know … we could do this. It’s the right thing to do.” The dealership donated a 2015 Chrysler 200 to the family. This vehicle was covered in decals meant to make it look like a racecar, presumably for the son. The decals promote the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Race to Recovery” program.

Joe Conner was taken back with the donation, which he says is an example of this local dealer demonstrating the power of community. Speaking about the dealership donation, Conner said, “We had a lot of needs when Evan was diagnosed. Financially it was real difficult. You know Matt reaching out like this just proved the power of community and just how amazing Fort Wayne business and charity is so we’re just honored … we hopefully will be the voice of hope for people who are dealing with cancer.”