By MICHAEL WHITNEY
Published August 17, 2022

Man gifted car as next step toward rebuilding his life

Doug Ramsay photo

With confetti flying around him, Don Childs checks out his new car when it was presented to him at a celebration in front of The Pursuit Church in Snohomish on Saturday, Aug. 13. Mike Fischer, wearing a vest and white shirt, claps behind him.


SNOHOMISH — It was a surprise that should mean a lot.
On Saturday, Aug. 13, after a monthly fellowship breakfast, a member of The Pursuit Church handed over the keys of a 2013 Honda Accord to a fellow member who’s gone without much for years.
Church members helped get him into housing. Now, they’ve helped get him transportation to have a stronger footing in the job hiring market.
Don Childs ended up living on the street in his mid-50s. He randomly entered the church one day, his friend Mike Fischer said, and became a devout regular.
This car “will last him the rest of his life,” Fischer said. He and Childs became friends over time.
Childs reciprocates. He’s used part of his street earnings to buy the ingredients to make sandwiches to take to the Seattle Gospel Mission, Fischer said.
With nothing to spare, Childs has handed over his own money to fundraisers for kids to go to summer camp, Fischer said. He does it because he believes kids should go to camp.
Fischer’s an everyday man who saw the car during his work as a home inspector. The homeowner planned to offload the Honda to a car broker when Fischer was inspired to offer to buy it to improve someone else’s life. His wife said go for it.
Over four months, fellow church members helped reimburse Fischer to offset part of the purchase. The gift includes a year of auto insurance paid in advance.
Fischer said he didn’t call the newspaper to seek attention to himself. He shared because “the community needs to see there are people doing good for others,” Fischer said.

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