What Comes Around Goes Around.

This time of year it seems as if every worthy cause has a hand out for help. While it is impossible to help all who need it we can do a little here and there to help some of them.

At Freedom we make an effort to give back. This short article is not about what we do, but about encouraging other to share their good fortune. Over the course of the year there are many opportunities to give.

Each year we do the Car Pro’s for Kid’s program. This supports the Child Advocates group and provides assistance to children caught up in the legal system due to CPS action. Under this program our customers purchase 2 oil changes for $25 and the entire amount is donated to Child Advocates. Our customer gets 2 oil changes for less than the price of one, we get new customers, or to see our old ones more often, and Child Advocates get 50 or 60 thousand dollars each year.

Freedom has worked with the Susan B Koman Race for the Cure by donating a percentage of sales in March to the cause. Every family has seen the effects of Breast Cancer on someone they love, including ours. Last year Freedom raised $1700 for Koman.

The Fort Bend Rainbow Room is a project to get Christmas gifts to needy children, and in some cases adults, who would otherwise have no Christmas at all. Working with Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services, Rainbow Room gets a wish list from the kids and then finds sponsors to fulfill that child’s Christmas dream. Last year they helped 671 kids and 33 adults at Christmas time. They also accept cash donations if you don’t have time to shop. Rainbow Room works year round with an emergency “closet” to help those in need with items from school supplies to diapers. Freedom is a drop point for your gifts this year.

Grace Flight is similar to the more well known Angel Flight. They transport hundreds of needy medical patients from around the country to our local medical center each year. Pilots donate their time, aircraft and fuel to bring patients to the best hospital system in the world for life saving treatment. They also need volunteers to help with ground transportation. Once a patient gets to the airport they still need to get to the medical facility. Employees of Freedom volunteer for this part of the program and Freedom offers a free oil change to anyone providing ground transportation to the program.

Through the Rotary Club (59 Sunrise)  we support another toy drive, Christmas in Alief. Last year the project gave toys to more than 1500 kids! Rotary supports too many charities to even list here including several Veterans programs and the Polio Plus programs.

Of course Freedom also sponsors local sports teams, school events like Project Graduation, and FFA events (last year a pig!)

As you can see there are a lot of ways each of us can help. Just by doing what you should anyway, servicing your car, you can help support some of these groups. You can donate money or time to the others.

While things may be tough for a lot of us these days there are always those who are worse off and truly in need of our support. Remember the old saying, “What comes around goes around!”

Road Trip Time Again

‘Tis the season to plan those family road trips again. Whether you are going to grandma’s house, making the rounds of family members or just getting away from everybody now is the time to make sure that everything is in order with your car.

Before heading out to visit with friends and family for the holidays take the time to schedule a visit with your mechanic. Two of the most common roadside breakdowns are flat tires and overheated engines and both are preventable.

When you take your car into the shop just let them know that you are going on a trip and about how many miles you are planning to drive. This will allow the shop to gauge any repairs that may be needed to make the trip and those that can be done later.

There are a few things in addition to having the car checked out that you may want to consider packing along with your normal stuff. Here at Freedom Automotive we recommend a few items that you should have in your emergency kit.

1. A couple of large trash bags. These are in case you need to do something like change a flat tire, you can lay it on the ground so as to not get dirty or in case it is raining you can use one as a rain coat.
2. A can of Fix-a-Flat. Just make sure that you buy the type that is approved as tire pressure sensor safe.
3. A gallon of bottled water. This will insure that you have something to add to the radiator in case of overheating. It is also good in case you get stranded; you will have something to drink.
4. A flashlight. No explanation is needed here just make sure the batteries are new and test it before you leave. At places like Wal-Mart you can buy an emergency flashlight that does not require batteries. Instead it has a crank handle that you wind up to charge the light.
5. First aid kit. Just because you never know.
6. Road reflectors. These need to be placed in front of and behind your vehicle so that other drivers will have advanced warning that someone is on the side of the road. Granted that these days the odds of another driver knowing what they mean is slim, but hey, better safe than sorry.
7. We recommend you to keep a blanket in the car just in case you are traveling to the frozen north like Conroe. This way if the car breaks down and will not run you can stay warm until help arrives.

Now for the last thing before you load all that stuff into the trunk and head out for your trip. Check the spare tire. Makes sure it is there, has air in it and that the jack and lug wrench are also there. I know you just had it checked at the shop, but we are human also and the spare tire is easy to overlook.

Have a great holiday trip and be safe.