Michelle Bass winner in FRC’S latest car giveaway
Young mom strives to make a positive impact in her community
They did it again. The Family Resource Center gave away a car to a third family in need Thursday.
Michelle Bass, her husband Rashod King and their daughter Kadyn King were selected to receive a 2010 Nissan Cube, given to the center by an anonymous donor.
When Bass and her daughter arrived at the center Thursday afternoon to drop off some donations they had no idea there was a surprise waiting for them. Yvonne Draxler, executive director of FRC, and Nikki Wheeler, assistant director, shared the secret with Kadyn first and she then shared the news with her mom and ever yone in the building, declaring “my mom won a car!”
“What! I could cr y!” a shocked Bass said. “This is such a weight of f of my shoulders.”
Bass already has a car and while it does run, it’s got a few maintenance needs. There is no air conditioning, the speedometer only goes up to 85, the hazard lights are a bit finicky, and the door doesn’t open so she has to crawl through the window to get in. With the family getting ready to welcome another little girl they were very much in need of a safer vehicle, but with only a $500 budget to buy a new car the prospects weren’t good.
“I’m so grateful; the Family Resource Center has been like a light this entire time,” Bass said.
Those wanting to win the car were asked to submit an essay or video sharing how owning a car would transform their life and how it would allow them to BE A LIGHT and do good in the community. The owner of the vehicle then selected the winning essay.
Talk to Bass for a few minutes and it’s easy to see why she was chosen, as she truly tries to BE A LIGHT in her community.
“We’ve really enjoyed this city, and how much the people have helped here,” she said.
Bass and her husband came from California and have been in Sterling for four years now and they’ve liked their time here. “It’s amazing to have that smalltown feel, a feeling of community,” she said. “Even with COVID you could still see us shining; it’s a good community.”
Wanting to pay back what others have done to help her, she’s been doing her best to help in whatever way she can, no matter how small. One way she had planned to help was by starting a composting and recycling pick-up program, realizing homes here don’t have recycling bins and not everyone has transportation to get to a recycling location. However, those plans have been put on hold as the family is now moving.
Bass is still finding ways to give back before she leaves though; wanting to donate her current vehicle to FRC so that someone else can use it.
“I know how it is not having a car; it’s draining,” she said.
Bass’ main goal in life is to stay positive and to try to spread positivity within the town and get people to like each other.
“I realized in life in order for you to move up, you have to bring up the people around you too,” she said, adding that she truly believes Sterling has “so much potential.”
Bass has a goal to make as much positive impact as she can; she wants to change the world and is positive she can do it. That starts with her going back to school to get a degree in business, with a minor in childhood education and development, and then possibly getting involved in politics.
Draxler said one of the things that impressed her most about Bass is following the death of George Floyd and the spread of the Black Lives Matter movement, when the community was “fighting so much,” she was “such a voice of peace and getting along. She helped people understand that if we love each other it’s going to change things more than if we hate.”
“When George Floyd died it was really quiet in town, no one was really talking about it; there were just sor t of whispers, and I wanted to do a demonstration to see if we could open some minds,” Bass said. “I was glad to see how many turned out.”
She feels that a lot of people have lost their compassionate side and encourages everyone to step up and help others however they can.
“Even if someone takes advantage of you when you give them help, that’s on them; don’t let that harden your heart,” Bass said. “Every day is a learning experience, we have to keep growing, we all need to step up and tr y to be the light in this world.”