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RIFLE - Julie Jones knows how to take care of herself.
The single mother has been through some rough times in her life, even experiencing homelessness for a period of time. But now she's learning and doing things she never thought she would.
Like how to change her car's oil.
On Friday, Feb. 2, seven women from the Links to Success class, offered through the Gateway Program at Colorado Mountain College, got their hands dirty in an automobile maintenance class where they learned the basics of auto care.
And when a mechanic is willing to give free advice, people will listen.
"We do it as just a little bit of give-back to the community," said Columbine Ford service manager Scott Minturn. "It's just to help them out."
This class was more than just instructional - it taught the women how to get their hands dirty. Minturn and the gang of mechanics at Columbine Ford in Rifle closed up shop for three hours on Friday afternoon and held a private instruction on auto maintenance for the women, all in the name of charity and good will.
"(The Gateway people) put on a pretty good program," Minturn said. "When they have a group of girls that have a need for this, we try to help out."
Minturn said the mechanics taught the women how to check basic fluid levels and make sure everything is full and running smoothly.
"What they learn here may save them money on major repairs in the future," Minturn said.
Sonny Conley, job developer for the Gateway program, teaches some of the Links classes and said these types of things are exactly what they try to focus on.
"A lot of these ladies are dealing with poverty on the emotional level as well as the financial level," Conley said. "The ultimate goal is for these girls to be self sufficient in life."
Teaching them how and when to use a wrench is an important step for these women. Know-how and the ability to keep their car running well without relying on someone else is a step in the right direction.
Besides the education, they all got oil changes, fluids filled, complete check of belts and hoses and tire balancing and rotations, too. One woman even had a universal joint replaced, which is a pretty major operation.
"The financial aspect of the class is substantial," Conley said. "Closing down the shop when they could have been making money, as well as the money that the ladies saved, that's a big deal."
Conley said a positive aspect of the class was that they were taken in by these male mechanics and shown how to deal with situations on their own. This was a big deal, because most of the women have been in bad relationships with men in the past.
Big doesn't quite sum up the emotions the women felt as they left the garage that evening.
"A lot of feelings of gratitude," Jones said. "I don't really know how to describe it. They did a lot of work for us and it was really nice."
Contact John Gardner: 945-8515, ext. 16604
jgardner@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
The single mother has been through some rough times in her life, even experiencing homelessness for a period of time. But now she's learning and doing things she never thought she would.
Like how to change her car's oil.
On Friday, Feb. 2, seven women from the Links to Success class, offered through the Gateway Program at Colorado Mountain College, got their hands dirty in an automobile maintenance class where they learned the basics of auto care.
And when a mechanic is willing to give free advice, people will listen.
"We do it as just a little bit of give-back to the community," said Columbine Ford service manager Scott Minturn. "It's just to help them out."
This class was more than just instructional - it taught the women how to get their hands dirty. Minturn and the gang of mechanics at Columbine Ford in Rifle closed up shop for three hours on Friday afternoon and held a private instruction on auto maintenance for the women, all in the name of charity and good will.
"(The Gateway people) put on a pretty good program," Minturn said. "When they have a group of girls that have a need for this, we try to help out."
Minturn said the mechanics taught the women how to check basic fluid levels and make sure everything is full and running smoothly.
"What they learn here may save them money on major repairs in the future," Minturn said.
Sonny Conley, job developer for the Gateway program, teaches some of the Links classes and said these types of things are exactly what they try to focus on.
"A lot of these ladies are dealing with poverty on the emotional level as well as the financial level," Conley said. "The ultimate goal is for these girls to be self sufficient in life."
Teaching them how and when to use a wrench is an important step for these women. Know-how and the ability to keep their car running well without relying on someone else is a step in the right direction.
Besides the education, they all got oil changes, fluids filled, complete check of belts and hoses and tire balancing and rotations, too. One woman even had a universal joint replaced, which is a pretty major operation.
"The financial aspect of the class is substantial," Conley said. "Closing down the shop when they could have been making money, as well as the money that the ladies saved, that's a big deal."
Conley said a positive aspect of the class was that they were taken in by these male mechanics and shown how to deal with situations on their own. This was a big deal, because most of the women have been in bad relationships with men in the past.
Big doesn't quite sum up the emotions the women felt as they left the garage that evening.
"A lot of feelings of gratitude," Jones said. "I don't really know how to describe it. They did a lot of work for us and it was really nice."
Contact John Gardner: 945-8515, ext. 16604
jgardner@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO
