Lashiskala Sims from Chicago had been forced to spend over $400 a month on ride-sharing trips to and from work and even had a miscarriage because of all the stress from her situation.
Nationwide — Early Walker, the owner of a Black-owned tow truck company in Chicago called W&W Towing, recently joined Bishop Larry Trotter, lawyers from the Vrdolyak Law Group, and other volunteers to present a 40-year old single mother of four children with a new vehicle.
Walker, who is a well-known philanthropist, received a letter on January 23rd from Lashiskala Sims of Chicago’s Westside. Sims mentioned in her letter that less than a year ago her car was stolen from her place of employment. At that time she had just learned that she was pregnant carrying her fifth child. However, just days later, she miscarried the child. Doctors confirmed to her that stress played a significant role in her misfortune. Sims attributes the stress to the horrifying challenges of not having transportation.
Sims also detailed the challenges that she has had to endure concerning her children in lieu of not having a car. Her 17-year old daughter is a graduating senior and has been accepted at a state university for college in the fall. Ms. Sims fears not being able to drive her daughter to school.
The financial strain on Sims has been quite evident. She works a minimum wage job and finds it difficult to provide food, clothing, and shelter for kids. The challenge of not having a vehicle has added nearly $400 per month to her household budget via roundtrip ride shares to work – all of which prevented her from being able to purchase Christmas gifts for her children in 2020.
Walker decided to surprise both Sims and her children during a pre-arranged trip to the Sweet Holy Spirit Church of Chicago. She was told that she was one of four finalists for the vehicle, all of whom will be interviewed in person at the church. She had also been told that a winner will be selected later in the week. (None of this was true, but was necessary to get her and her children to come to the surprise event.)
Sims arrived at the “interview” at 9am, and it ended around 10am. Early Walker and Bishop Trotter then walked her to the main entrance of the church where she noticed a car with a big red bow being lowered from the back of a flat-bed tow truck.
She was then told that the car is hers, and when she opened the trunk of the vehicle, she found a mass amount of Christmas gifts that had been placed there for her three younger children.
Sims was extremely surprised, emotional and thankful – all at the same time.
She was also informed that a local law firm, the Vrdolyak Law Group, has partnered with Walker and will be providing significant educational assistance for her 17-year old daughter who graduates high school this year. This was icing on the cake for Sims and her family.
For more information about Early Walker, who is known throughout the Chicagoland area as a successful entrepreneur and very generous philanthropist, visit his tow truck company’s official web site at WWTowing.com