Dawn Kennedy-Grady wanted a better life.
A single mother of three, she recently moved from what she called a bad neighborhood in Stoughton to a better one in Rockland. Her older two children were adjusting well to their new school in Rockland, and her young son was happily enrolled at Younger University, a childcare center in Norwell.
Then Dawn's car broke down, and she couldn't get to work. She ultimately lost her job because of the lack of transportation.
Seeing Kennedy-Grady's struggle to continue to bring her son to the center, having to walk nearly four miles each way to do so, prompted Younger University owner Geri Dann and director Jacquie Ranahan into action.
Dann made a call to an auto dealer in Sharon that she had done business with in the past, Philip Ibrahim, who owns Imotobank.com.
"Philip has been very good to me and I have referred a lot of people to him," Dann said. "So I called and said if I am out of line please let me know. But it doesn't hurt to ask."
Dann explained Kennedy-Grady's situation to him, and Ibrahim said he would see what he could do.
"That was Friday," Dann said. "The following Monday (Dec. 13), he told me the car would be delivered on Tuesday and that it was his donation."
When she learned the news, Kennedy-Grady said her initial reaction was 'how much do I have to pay for it?'
When she found out it was a gift, she said she could not believe it.
"I am super psyched," she said. "I am so happy, you have no idea."
She said her new car — a 2001 red Chevy Cavalier — is awesome.
"It's so clean and has brand new tires," she said. "The heat works awesome. And it's good on gas."
She said her older children couldn't believe it when she pulled up in the car to pick them up at school.
"Usually I have to walk to the school to get them and we all walk back," she said.
Ranahan said other parents at the center have donated some money to cover the costs of insuring the vehicle and getting it registered.
She said the staff at Younger University really wanted to help.
Kennedy-Grady said life without a car was difficult.
"Nobody would even give me a ride to the grocery store, so I ended up having to walk to Tedeschi's, which is more expensive. A woman who I used to do a lot for would charge me $10 every time she'd take me someplace. It wasn't worth it."
She said she tried to keep the kids' routine as normal as possible. Because her son had enjoyed going to Younger University, Kennedy-Grady kept him enrolled.
"He really likes it there," she said. "He enjoys playing with the other kids. It's the best daycare I've ever had."
But keeping him at Younger, and not having any transportation, meant that Kennedy-Grady had to walk nearly four miles each way just to get to the center.
"It was cold," she said, adding that she would bundle her son up and push him along in a stroller.
She said parts of the route didn't have a sidewalk and cars would speed past her.
"It could be a tough walk, but it meant so much to him to be able to go to the center," she said.
Staff members at Younger University noticed Kennedy-Grady walking her son to school and asked her what was going on.
Ranahan gave Kennedy-Grady a ride home one morning, and later in the day, when she walked back to the school to pick up her son, Dann drove them both home.
Ranahan said everyone at the center was so excited upon learning of such a generous donation and that Kennedy-Grady would be getting the car.
"One of my teachers said 'it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' and some of us had tears in our eyes," she said.
"When you see a parent trying so hard to do the best for her child despite very difficult circumstances, your heart breaks for them and you have to do whatever you can to help," she said.
Both Ranahan and Dann said they were moved when Kennedy-Grady, discussing her situation, told them her family didn't need much because they had food on the table, clean clothes and a roof over their heads and that her children understand this is just how they live but that they love each other and are happy.
Ranahan said Younger University prides itself on being a childcare program different from any other on the South Shore, and that their approach to teachingthe whole child transcends to caring for the whole family.
Kennedy-Grady said she still couldn't believe the generosity of the center and what they did for her.
"Everyone there has just been so helpful," she said. "I can't thank them enough. This has made such a difference for me and my kids."
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