Krystal Chandler is a sophomore at Harris-Stowe State University, a historically Black educational institution in St. Louis. She recently received a Saturn sedan donated by Gwendolyn Downs, whose husband attended the university in the 1960s. Mrs. Downs stipulated that the car go to an African American single mother who needed transportation.
Chandler had to go through an application and screening process which included background checks, a financial assessment, and an examination of her driving record before she was selected for the award. In addition to the car, she received auto insurance for the first six months, gasoline cards, a one-year membership in the American Automobile Association, and oil change vouchers.
Chandler, who holds a 3.5 grade point average stated, “I now have transportation to and from school, I can now take my daughter to her after-school activities.” Chandler reports that over the Thanksgiving holiday, “my daughter got the chance to visit relatives from both sides of her family because we now have transportation.”
