Maryland Car Dealer, Non-Profit Gives Out Cars To Veterans In Owings Mills

OWINGS MILLS - Heritage MileOne AutoGroup and nonprofit Vehicles for Change teamed up to give Baltimore area veterans new cars. On Thursday, ten veterans were gifted new cars at Heritage Toyota in Owings Mills.

The donations were part of a program that has been running since 2017. Over the last five years, Heritage MileOne AutoGroup and Vehicles for Change have given out more than 200 cars valued at more than $1.5 million.

Vehicles For Change President Martin Schwartz says it's an honor to be able to help veterans in need.

"To have the opportunity to give back to those individuals who have served our country, have put their lives on the line day-in and day-out for us so that we can do things like, this is just an honor for us," Schwartz said.

Vehicles for Change also helps ex-offenders find jobs. They operate a school that trains former criminals and those who are unemployed to become auto technicians. Mile One has personally hired 11 of the school's auto-tech graduates.

CBS News spoke to Navy Veteran D'Andre Jenson, one of the veterans receiving a car. He was thrilled to get to work more efficiently and thankful for the opportunities a vehicle provides.

"I'm not going to lie, [I'm] Real happy to have this car, excited. It makes everything a whole lot easier because I was kind of struggling to get to work," Jenson said. "It actually just lets everybody know that there are good people out here, and there are programs that want to help people out."