Moreno Valley's Fairman Family Receives Life-Changing Gift

A hard-working family that doesn’t let a bad day or even a bad year come between their positive attitude and overall happiness deserves to be recognized. The Fairmans of Moreno Valley are the type of family that still manage to not only work hard, but push beyond their limits on a daily basis, even in the worst of situations. Michelle and Roshard Fairman have three young kids who attend Bear Valley Elementary School. About three years ago, the Fairmans’ car broke down and they did not have the financial means to repair it. Michelle, legally blind and deaf, still manages to get all three children to school on time by walking with them every day. Roshard, who was working all the way in Cabazon at the time, would ride his bicycle to a carpool site in order to catch a ride to work. While he works much closer to home now, he still would have to leave at 4:15 a.m. every morning to ride his bicycle to get to work on time. It’s about 14 miles round trip. Ben Clymer’s The Body Shop in Moreno Valley has a Car Giveaway program that has been going strong for six years. All Moreno Valley residents truly in need of a car are encouraged to apply. They must submit an application including specific information: driver’s license number, income, family situation, etc., and a story of their situation that demonstrates why a car would positively impact their life. Automobiles of Southern California donated a salvaged car with less than 60,000 miles on it to Ben Clymer’s The Body Shop, and they completely repaired with donated parts, tools and labor. Other local businesses that helped with this program include Martin Auto Color, PPG Finishes, P&D Wholesale, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Bud’s Tire & Wheel, Precision Auto Glass and Community Connect. Once received, the applications are sent to the non-profit organization Community Connect to go through a screening process. CEO of Community Connect Bobbie Neff said, “First I check everything’s complete... if I feel like there’s more to the story, I’ll call and ask them.” Ben Clymers Jr. said, “Community Connect goes through applications to make sure everything is valid for us, and then the Clymers get together and read the stories. We then choose the top two, and from that point, we all decide on the winner.” Clymer added, “This is not a hand-out, it’s a hand-up. We chose the family that inspires us… the ones that may be down and out, but have not given up.” He explained that this is the first car giveaway where he received calls from multiple people, mainly teachers from the children’s school, telling him that they chose the perfect family to give the car to. The Fairmans didn’t only receive a free 2010 Toyota Camry, but a trunk full of groceries, and one year of paid auto insurance and paid DMV fees. Sandra Drummond, a teacher at Bear Valley Elementary School, has known the Fairman family for over three years, and was the one who recommended the Fairman family for the car giveaway. “When I heard of the giveaway, I automatically thought of them... it was a no-brainer,” she said. She has had two of their three children as her students so far. “They’re always on time and their homework is always done. It’s quality work too,” she added. Drummond completed the application for the Fairman family and then asked Michelle for further personal information like income, car situation, etc. She then connected Roshard with Ben Clymer so he can learn more about the program. “He was skeptical about it at first, so I wanted to stop being the middleman so he could see what the program was all about directly from Ben,” Drummond said. She mentioned that she was already familiar with their situation since she would see Michelle walking her kids to school and picking them up. She said, “Their car situation had not changed since I had her other kid in my class, which was three years ago.” “It’s not that they just don’t have a car… it’s their spirit,” Drummond said, explaining why they were the winners. Ben Clymer also mentioned to her that he was glad she brought this family to his attention because they would have gone “under the radar.” “They don’t ask anyone for help… they are very proud and humble people,” Drummond said. After receiving the car on Oct. 23, Roshard responded to a question about how he feels about winning this car. In a chuckling tone, he said he will be able to get to work a lot sooner than if he were riding a bike. Michelle mentioned that with their new car, they’ll be able to go to church since they haven’t gone in a while. Also, they won’t have to worry about how they will be able to carry the groceries back home. On top of the 2010 Toyota Camry, trunk full of groceries, DMV fees paid off, and one year of insurance, Bud’s Tire and Wheel was “so moved” by the Fairman family’s story, they added free maintenance to the car until October 2015. “Free oil changes until next October... I thought that was so amazing,” Drummond shared.