Single dad-of-five wins van
A generous Auckland family has picked a solo father-of-five to be the new owner of their eightseater van.
Michael Adams was named the winner on September 16 via a live video on a ‘pay it forward’ social media page.
Henderson resident Leao Tildsley, who currently owned the car, said she chose Adams because he needed a vehicle to get his family around.
Tildsley was overwhelmed by the response after offering to give her car away to a family in need.
She said she selected the solo father-of-five young children out of hundreds of requests because it would suit the needs of his family well.
Adams was father to 12-yearold Samson, 10-year-old Antonio, 7-year-old Michael Junior, 4-yearold Serenity and 2-year-old Oceanna.
The Tildsley family had purchased a new vehicle and she said they didn’t have it in their heart to sell the van.
‘‘It’s been so good to us that I thought I would give it away on the ‘pay it forward’ page. I would love to bless someone else with it.
‘‘I had no idea about the response that would come from it. It was really overwhelming,’’ she said.
The post received more than 1000 likes and 400 comments before Tildsley had to close comments in order to pick a winner.
Tildsley said the van had given them the chance to help kids in their neighbourhood.
With only three children, the extra seats gave her the opportunity to take others on trips to the beach, camping and church.
‘‘We didn’t need to get an eightseater but we’ve been able to take other kids with us to places they probably wouldn’t go otherwise,’’ she said.
Tildsley said she was surprised by the public’s reaction to her giving away the van because she didn’t think it was a big deal.
Her family had already given away a seven-seater vehicle about seven years ago.
‘‘We just found it in our hearts that they needed it more than us,’’ she said.
Tildsley said she was surprised that the minor issues with the van hadn’t put anyone off, she said.
The windscreen had a small crack in it and the 1997 Toyota Estima needed a service.
But Tildsley said the community had offered to pay for the repairs and six months worth of registration.
They would also help out with new car seat covers, speakers, and fill the car with gas.
‘‘It’s so amazing,’’ Tildsley said.
‘‘It's been so good to us that I thought I would give it away on the 'pay it forward' page. I would love to bless someone else with it.’’
Leao Tildsley