Summary
Jason Hurt, Founder and CEO of Chariots4Hope, shares how his career in the automotive industry evolved into a mission to remove transportation barriers for families in crisis. After witnessing how unreliable transportation destabilizes single mothers and caregivers, he and his wife switched from operating a for-profit repair shop to building a nonprofit that provides vehicles, discounted repairs, transportation support, and education.
Key Takeaways:
(00:00) Introduction.
(04:35) Chariots4Hope removes transportation barriers so people can move forward.
(07:59) A partnership forms to help caregivers overcome transportation barriers.
(11:57) Hurricane Sandy prompts a faith-driven move to Omaha that ultimately leads to the launch of a new mission.
(15:19) The organization is building a relational, infrastructure-driven model that can be replicated in new cities.
(17:16) The strong early response to Cars for Caregivers confirms both the need and the potential impact.
(18:52) The mission is driven by real stories where reliable transportation restores stability for families in crisis.
Resources Mentioned:
2. Christian Brothers Automotive
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Transcript
Jason Hurt: We started having single moms coming in our shop left and right and just their world was destroyed when we told them that it just doesn't make sense to repair your car. And so we started having a heavy, heavy burden for having to tell these women no. And so we were trying to do as much as we could on the side for them, but we just knew that, man, there's something going on here. And so we started researching. I started basically going back to Recycled Rides and just started putting a business plan together and just a vision, kind of created a vision board. And literally six months later it's like, yeah, I think we're gonna do this full time.
Peter Murphy Lewis: The world does not run on headlines. It runs on people who care. I'm Peter Murphy Lewis and this is People Worth Caring About. Alongside my co-host Jalene Carpenter, we sit down with the unsung heroes, caregivers, healers, helpers, the ones doing the real work even when no one is watching. These conversations are not polished. They're personal because behind every act of care is a story worth hearing. New episodes drop regularly. Get updates at peopleworthcaringabout.com.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Welcome back to another episode of People Worth Caring About. Jalene, say hola.
Jalene Carpenter: I am going to say hello to my friend Peter and some snazzy new glasses today. Peter, this is the subdued version.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Jalene, you know that practicing your Spanish language skills will make Nebraska less cold in this wintertime.
Jalene Carpenter: Oh, is that what it'll do? It'll bring up warm air.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Yeah. What have you been up to? Every time I get a text message from you, it says, "At the Capitol, call you back."
Jalene Carpenter: Yeah. That's where my life is right now. I am at the Capitol building in Lincoln and that is it. I'm one of two places. I'm at the Capitol or I am in a gymnasium watching basketball. Those are the only two places I am at. But how about you? Are you done traveling the world?
Peter Murphy Lewis: No, it's getting ready. You haven't answered any of my phone calls, but there's some great news. I'll be filming a one-off episode of a nursing building facility in Texas, but then we're gonna start Florida. Florida Health Care Association is filming season three in April and then Kentucky season four in May and North Dakota season six in May. So, there's a lot coming. I think the next time I'm gonna see you is gonna be at LTC 100.
Jalene Carpenter: That's right. Yes, we will be there together in April. I'm looking forward to it and excited about all of these other states that are jumping on board with People Worth Caring About.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Are you gonna bring a cast this year?
Jalene Carpenter: No. I will not be injured when I'm at LTC 100 this year, and I'm very much so looking forward to it. But I'm excited for our guest today, Peter, because usually you find all the cool guests, but not this time.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Well, before we bring in Jason to the show, I want the audience to know and Jason to know that you referred to one of the best radio shows ever, at least in my lifetime, as Click and Clack. And it's not called Click and Clack. I said, "Who is this amazing guy that you're bringing from the NPR show Car Talk?" And you said, "Click and Clack."
Jalene Carpenter: No. You said it's gonna be about... We're talking about cars and you're like, "What's that NPR show?" And I'm like, "Oh, it was Click and Clack." And you're like, "That's not right." Now, to be fair, that's what they called themselves. The show was Car Talk, but the brothers were Click and Clack. And I bet our friend Jason will know all about Click and Clack because he deals with cars every day. So you don't insult me anymore, I'm going to introduce our fantastic guest today. So with us today is Jason Hurt. He is the CEO and founder of Chariots for Hope and also the partner with Nebraska Health Care Foundation for Cars for Caregivers. So, Jason, welcome.
Jason Hurt: Thank you. Very excited to be here. I appreciate the invite.
Jalene Carpenter: Yes, we are excited to have you. And I think beforehand, would you have remembered the show Car Talk?
Jason Hurt: Yes. I do remember that show. Yes.
Jalene Carpenter: And you remember that the brothers called themselves Click and Clack?
Jason Hurt: I do. Yes, I do. So I'm with you. I'm following you.
Jalene Carpenter: We'll go on record that Peter and I were both kind of right, but I was more right. Jason, I am so excited to have you on the podcast today. We're gonna talk about the partnership that we have, but before we do that, I just would love for you to tell our audience what your organization, Chariots for Hope, is and the work that you do.
Jason Hurt: Absolutely. So Chariots for Hope, we started it, me and my wife, about 11 years ago, and it really was a focus on transportation. We came from New York City and there's transportation everywhere. And when we moved to Omaha, we realized quickly we had an automotive repair shop and we just had so many people coming in and they were a water pump away from just spiraling out of control. And so transportation in a city like this is extremely difficult to get around if you don't have a vehicle. And so we just realized and noticed there was a lot of transportation barriers that were keeping people, holding people back from moving ahead. And so, we just saw a huge gap. Not a lot of people were doing it. And so this ministry focuses just on that, helping people that are in need, that are facing these transportation barriers, to remove them so they can continue on their journey.
Jalene Carpenter: That's amazing. And your organization really does address transportation barriers, not just vehicles. Can you talk about some of the programs that you offer and some of those things that you do?
Jason Hurt: Absolutely. And you are right, exactly. Our most popular is the vehicle ownership program. And that's where we help mainly who we serve, but we serve everyone, is single moms. And these are folks that need cars for a lot of different reasons. That's one of the five different programs and services that we offer, you're right. They all focus on removing transportation barriers. We have a repair shop, so a lot of people that we serve, they already have cars, and so we don't need to help them find them. It's just as if you've taken your vehicle into a repair shop recently, you know how expensive it is. And a lot of these folks that are living paycheck to paycheck just can't afford it.
Jason Hurt: And so we actually have an in-house repair shop that provides deeply discounted repairs to those who already have cars. We also offer grants, transportation grants. These are folks that maybe have fallen down pretty hard and they just maybe need temporary assistance, like 30, 40 days for whatever reason. I'll give you an example. We had a mom who just didn't make a lot of money and her father passed away in Minnesota and just couldn't get there.
Jason Hurt: And so, we provided an airplane ticket so that she can get there and be with her family. And so, it's grants, these microgrants that are focusing on removing transportation barriers. We also just rolled out a recent program what we're super excited about, and that's called Life Ride. And if you will, it's kinda like an Uber for nonprofits. So, these are people that are not ready for a vehicle, they're just not in a position to maintain it, but they need to get around. And so it's a shuttle service for these folks to get from point A to point B.
Jason Hurt: And then we also have basically an educational component to our ministry and it focuses on just kind of getting people prepared and understanding the basics of insurance, car maintenance. We have a curriculum, a number of classes that just help people get ready for either a, when they can afford a car, or if they already have a car, to go ahead and make sure that it stays on the road as long as possible.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That is neat. How did the two of you meet, Jason?
Jason Hurt: So we met through a mutual friend, Mark. Mark actually had a nonprofit that did something similar as what we're doing, but really focused on handicapped individuals, folks with disabilities. And so, he just retired and he wanted to kinda merge our nonprofits. And so, we had been talking about what that looks like and bringing on his ministry into ours. And that's when basically right when that happened, he was in talks and communication with Jalene and her team. And so, yeah, he said, "Hey, look, I've gotta introduce you two. I need to connect you two because I think there's gonna be some real impact, real opportunities." So it was through a mutual friend.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That is neat. I was concerned that she was bringing her car in for you to fix it every day. So what are you doing at Nebraska Health Care Association? Why were you in long-term care?
Jason Hurt: So honestly, it's just teaming up with Jalene. I don't know if you wanted to talk a little bit about that, Jalene, but it's just helping their workers, folks that are in need of transportation, get to these facilities so that they can continue caring for these seniors. And so it was just for us, it's, "Hey, we've got this solution to an issue and a problem, a challenge that their workers were facing." And so we just connected.
Jalene Carpenter: So Peter, I think... You know, Peter, you and I came together because we were both sort of dream big kind of people. And I have had on my list since I took over the association four years ago, I had on my list just this idea of cars for caregivers. And for the longest time, I just kept putting it on the list thinking that maybe someday we could figure this out because anecdotally we heard all the time that we had individuals who couldn't get to work reliably, but they were fantastic team members. And Jason hit the nail on the head.
Jalene Carpenter: In Nebraska, transportation is critical, not just in the rural parts, but even in the urban parts. We don't have public transportation almost at all. It's almost nonexistent. Many of our facilities aren't anywhere near public transportation stops. So, our foundation decided to try and pursue how can we make this happen. And a couple of meetings with some really amazing people. I will call out Todd Vetter from Vetter Health Services. He's the one that connected us with Mark, who was connected with Jason. I think it only took like two or three meetings, Jason, and we were like, "We can do this. We can take this idea and merge it with this amazing program that already has the foundation and go from there."
Jason Hurt: Yeah. It didn't take long. Definitely, we connected quickly. I understood your vision, was behind it. I think you definitely understood ours. And so it was pretty cool to see it come together as quickly as it did.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That is neat. Jason, have you always been a car person? What's your story?
Jason Hurt: Yeah, absolutely. So my background is corporate USA. And so, I was running the claims division for GEICO. I'm sure you've heard of GEICO, the insurance company. And I was living up in New York City. And so, in the insurance world, there's a program that's similar to this called Recycled Rides. They focused on teaming up with body shops. Vehicles that were in an accident that got totaled, they would go ahead and grab a couple and then team up with a body shop, repair it, and then help mainly veterans.
Jason Hurt: And so I've just been around that. That concept was always there. And when I left corporate and decided to do my own thing, it was just always kinda up there like, "Man, what a cool program." I was part of it, loved it, loved seeing the impact. And so, yeah. So once I left GEICO, and so that's where my background began, I started out as a claims adjuster. So I was around cars, estimating cars, dealing with mechanic shops and body shops, and so kinda grew up in that space. Believe it or not, I can do some repairs, but you don't really want to trust me.
Jason Hurt: So that's the funny thing. Like I'm a car guy, but I'm not mechanically inclined. So I got the business background and just an appreciation for the cars, but you don't want me changing your water pump.
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Jalene Carpenter: When you and I have talked, you talk a lot about your ministry, and I have a feeling that you felt called to do this work. And typically, if somebody goes from the corporate world, I think Peter lived this life at one point in time, you go from high-paying job, very fast-paced lifestyle. What called you to make that transition?
Jason Hurt: Yeah, absolutely. So I was up in New York and Hurricane Sandy had just come through. I don't know if you remember that hurricane, but it was really significant up north. That was just where my eyes opened up. And I was just out there dealing with people that lost everything, transportation, homes, and just really having an internal battle as far as what am I doing. And so, I'm a man of faith, and that's basically where I just started really wrestling with, "God, what do you want me to do? Like I think there's more for me to do." And so through that process of just really pressing in and seeking, that's where basically my journey began and it led me to Omaha. I could go as deep as you want, but through that prayer session, it just kind of, "Hey, this is where I think I need to be." So I actually came here and started Christian Brothers Automotive, which is a repair shop franchise that started in Texas. Very, very popular in the South, but blowing up in the Midwest. And so it's an independent mechanical shop.
Jason Hurt: And so, that's really what I thought I was gonna do is to go ahead and just open up multiple franchises. The only one, pretty cool story, the only one that was really available at the time, because they build everything from the ground up. A lot of these franchises you can get in existing buildings, but they don't do that. They go ahead and build everything brand new. And so, it was gonna be about a two or three-year process.
Jason Hurt: And so, I just didn't want to wait that long. So I'm like, "No, thank you, but I'm out." They called us back and said, "Hey, we actually have a location in Omaha, first one, where the original owner, his uncle died and willed him a farm in Texas." And so, he backed out, but he'd been waiting, he was in the process for a year and a half. So you would only have a six-month wait. So we're like, "Omaha?" Like we're up in New York. I mean, I lived in New York, Chicago, Atlanta. I'm a big city guy. And so to me, Omaha was country. And so I'm like, "I don't think I wanna do this." Well, me and my wife went ahead and literally, because we were so busy with Hurricane Sandy, we flew up here, taste of Omaha in 24 hours, and instantly fell in love with the people and the place. So we're like, "We're in. This is it. This is where we're supposed to go." We just felt like yeah, God's prompting us to go ahead and come. And so we did, and we opened up the business in 2013, closed it down in 2014, and started Chariots.
Jason Hurt: That's how fast we knew that. My goodness, yeah. We came here for a for-profit, but we started having single moms coming in our shop left and right, and just their world was destroyed when we told them that it just doesn't make sense to repair your car. And so we started having a heavy, heavy burden for having to tell these women no. And so we were trying to do as much as we could on the side for them, but we just knew that, man, there's something going on here. And so we started researching. I started basically going back to recycled rides and just started putting a business plan together. And just a vision, kind of created a vision board, and literally six months later, it's like, "Yeah, I think we're gonna do this full-time." It wasn't the smartest thing to do. I don't recommend people buying a business and selling it a year later, but it was a faith calling. Yeah, absolutely. That we knew after a year of being in Christian Brothers, both me and my wife came to the point where, "Yeah, we have to do it now." Like we both felt called.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Well, congrats. This is a beautiful story. You're an inspiration. I wish that there was a Jason Hurt in Wichita, Kansas, taking care of the locals here. Jason, if you had a magic wand to do this better or bigger, what would you ask and where do you envision it being five years from now?
Jason Hurt: Yeah, good question. We do feel like this was something that really, just because there's not a lot of people doing it at our level. What you'll see is some folks are out there doing it, but it's more of a transaction. It's not relational where we have programming behind it. We don't want to just be a car dealer where, "Here's your car," or a car repair shop. So we want to go ahead and put the infrastructure underneath these folks that really need it. And so, because of that, there's not a lot of people doing it. A lot of people, just because we've bounced from city to city with my corporate job, have been reaching out saying, "We would love for you to bring a chapter into our city." And so, for the last two and a half years, I've been building a... If you will, kind of like a franchise concept for this nonprofit. It's an affiliate program where basically someone in Wichita, St. Louis, Kansas City is interested in going ahead and not reinventing the wheel, but just bringing it in and starting it. We have everything in place now to go ahead and take them through training and help them launch their first ministry.
Jason Hurt: And so, our first one that we actually just completed is in Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin. They've been doing it now for three years and they're super successful. So that's the next five years. We see us going into four cities and opening up four more chapters of this ministry.
Peter Murphy Lewis: I want to ask you around if you get any threats from any of the dirty mechanics who take advantage of these poor single moms.
Jason Hurt: I'd love to tell you that no longer exists, but it does for sure. But there's also a lot of good ones. And so unfortunately, the bad ones are still out there and they're still predators and they are still going after them. Not only on the repair side, but also on the buy here, pay here car sale side. And so, yeah. We're not liked a lot because they do look at us as a competitor because they know these folks aren't gonna go to Baxter to get the car repaired. They're not even gonna go to Firestone because they're expensive. And so, some of these backyard mechanics, definitely, yeah. We're not in fight mode here, but they definitely are not appreciating that we're here now and that we're growing.
Jalene Carpenter: So, let's talk cars for caregivers, the initiative that we launched. I think it's only been two weeks ago and we have had an unbelievable number of applicants, Jason. So I know that our association has been funneling those applications to you. Are you excited about the response? Like tell me how it's going on your side of the thing.
Jason Hurt: We are. We meet every week. Monday is when we have our staff meeting. And I tell you, this last Monday was just cool, the energy. We were excited. We didn't really know if this thing was gonna take six, eight months to really take off or if it was gonna take off right out the gate. And so just to see the applications coming through and confirming that there is a need and the potential impact that we can have for your workers, which ultimately trickles down to the seniors who they're caring for, we couldn't be more excited, Jalene.
Jalene Carpenter: Well, I'll do a selfish plug here because I get texts frequently and I know I have a few people out there that are like, "We're excited for you. We're gonna try to donate a vehicle." So I know from our perspective that vehicle donation contributions are all welcome when it comes to cars for caregivers. And I'm excited just about what this initiative can do for workforce in the state of Nebraska. So I appreciate your partnership. I can't wait. You asked five years, Peter. I can't wait for a year from now for the stories that we'll have and the impact that it will have. So, until we have our stories, though, Jason, can you share maybe one of your favorite stories of when you have donated a vehicle or helped with transportation and the impact that it had?
Jason Hurt: Absolutely. I mean, like you said, that's what I'm most excited about, Jalene, is the stories. That's why we do it. That's what motivates us and gets us up. Again, I don't care about really, at the end of the day, cars and doing a transaction. And so, I literally we have so many stories. The most recent one right now is one where I still get emotional over it. You had this single mom who was amazing, beautiful. From her perspective and we knew from an outside perspective, there wasn't any hidden agendas here in this marriage. She was a beautiful mom with beautiful kids and she came down with ovarian cancer, pretty hard and aggressive.
Jason Hurt: We'll just keep the details out, but her husband left her and cheated on her during this process and left her and the kids basically to survive on their own and took the only car that they had. And so, her life is spiraling out of control right in front of us. And so, we basically were able to step in and that was one of the things that she just did not know how she was going to, because of where she was living and she didn't have a lot of support here, how she was able to go and find a job and get there and provide for her kids.
Jason Hurt: And so, we were able to come in and lock arms. We had a partner kind of like you guys where we're like, "Hey, let's come in together and help this person. We'll facilitate everything." Basically, it was a donor that came in and said, "Hey, I'll give you the money. Let's get her a car quickly." We were able to do that.
Peter Murphy Lewis: Hey everyone, Peter here. Sorry for the interruption. Before we wrap up, I want to be very transparent. We ran into a few technical issues and unfortunately lost a few minutes of the conversation towards the end. So, if it feels a little abrupt, this is why. We wanted to make sure this felt organic and authentic, so we didn't re-record or try to recreate anything. We want you to get the gist of it. I also want to make sure that you hear the rest of Jason's story about this incredible single mom. Her life was really falling apart as she was battling ovarian cancer. Her husband had left and they lost their only car.
Peter Murphy Lewis: But thanks to Jason and his team and a generous donor, they were able to step up, step in, and do it quickly. She received a car, moved into a new apartment, and got back to work to provide for her kids. Beautiful story. Thank you, Jason. Stories like this show how reliable transportation can literally change someone's life. Not just getting from point A to B, but creating stability, opportunity, and hope. This is the heart of Chariots for Hope and Cars for Caregivers. And it's the why Jason does what he does and his team, and that's what makes it extra meaningful. So, the best way for you to get involved and make an impact is to visit chariotsforhope.org. Whether that's donating a vehicle, contributing, or sharing this mission with someone who can help, every little bit makes a difference. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you again to Jason for this impactful work you're doing. We can't wait to share more stories in the future. Until the next time, take care and keep caring about People Worth Caring About. Thank you.
Peter Murphy Lewis: That's a wrap on People Worth Caring About, born from the documentary built to keep the stories going. Shout out to Nebraska Healthcare Association and Jalene Carpenter for helping launch it, and to Ohio and New Mexico for making future seasons real. Watch the docuseries online or at peopleworthcaringabout.com. And if this episode meant something to you, leave a review. It matters. Take care of yourself and the people worth caring about.
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