San Francisco Zip Car Lets Charity Workers Drive for Free

Zip Car is giving Bay Area nonprofits a massive break by offering their cars to charity workers for free. This generous program is designed to help the organizations get through the current donation slump that has deeply affected their budgets. Among the workers who have gotten to drive around for free are volunteers who help seniors switch their analog televisions to digital, after-school art teachers, environmentalists planting trees and Big Brothers and Sisters who mentor kids.

From SF Gate:

“I believe it’s part of doing business; it’s part of being a human being,” said Michael Uribe, general manager of Zipcar San Francisco.

“We get to come to work and contribute to the larger social network. How cool is that?” he said.

Fees averaging $70 a day are waived for Bay Area artists with HIV who need to haul their canvasses to exhibitions sponsored by the nonprofit Visual Aid, employees who need to pick up supplies for author Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia writing center, and to Meals on Wheels drivers bringing hot food to the homebound. In March, Zipcar will lend 10 trucks to Friends of the Urban Forest to plant trees throughout San Francisco parks and residential neighborhoods.

Zip Car, which has been around for nearly a decade, has yet to turn a profit – but growing demand in cities with a high parking-hassle factor like San Francisco and New York have helped position the company as a creative social entrepreneur.

Helping people in need, even when they aren’t rolling in cash themselves – now that’s something to be proud of. Let’s get the word out about Zip Car’s good deeds. Knowing that they are providing such an unselfish service to volunteers in San Francisco makes me want to help them become more successful themselves.

Link [SF Gate]
Photo credit: Frederic Larson / The Chronicle

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