‘Very grateful’: Rincon community surprises a group home resident with free car

RINCON, Ga. (WTOC) - The Effingham County community came together on Saturday morning to surprise a young man who has lived in a group home since he was 12 years old with a free car.

Anselm Green received the gift at Old Place Pub in Rincon, where people gathered for a monthly car show.

Green believed he was just stopping there in the morning with some others before helping someone move.

What came next was a police escort with his new car leading the way.

“Yesterday, when I got off work, Mr. Nick — one of the people at the house — was like, ‘I’m going to come get you in the morning, we’re going to move some stuff. My friends need help, and we need some muscle,” Green said. “And so I was like ok. Came here in the morning, I just thought we were going to help move.”

The effort began with a Facebook post from the Treutlen House congratulating Green on earning his driver’s license.

Members of the Low Country Car Club saw it and took notice.

“They’re like, ‘congratulations, we have a driver,’ typical of what you would see a parent post for their kid getting their driver’s license, and that was the moment we kind of stopped,” said Kelly Hoffner, a Low Country Car Club member. “And we were like ok, what happens next for a boy that’s in the Treutlen House?”

The Treutlen House works with the Department of Family and Children Services for boys ages 6 to 21. The group home in Ebenezer assists kids who need help coming from difficult situations.

WTOC did not ask about his upbringing, as Saturday was a day for celebration and encouragement as he drove away on new adventures. The first stop, however, he says, will be for work on Monday morning.

“I did not know this was going to happen. Very grateful though,” he said. “Effingham, there’s a lot of good, real people, and I appreciate them.”

About a month after the post, a 2004 Acura was fixed up for Green through donations and support from area businesses and community members. The car received new tires, window tinting, body work, and a Bluetooth stereo system, among other upgrades. An unnamed donor also covered the cost of insurance.

“All they had to say was good things about this young man. He was a go-getter, graduated high school, he’s really smart, really kind, he’s got a good job lined up,” Hoffner said.

Hoffner said the community response went beyond financial donations.

“It’s one thing to do something good for somebody, but to have an entire community really come together and group together and show up and support,” she said. “We had donations flooding in, but we also had the physical presence of everyone showing up. We had community leaders, we had residents, we had law enforcement, and I think that’s really, really special.”

There are plans in place to help others in similar situations in the future. You can donate to Low Country Car Club’s, now official, car giveaway program and/or their charity of the year, “Heroes in the Sky,” to help first responder families who have had loved ones take their own lives. You can contact them through their website HERE.

Hoffner said other agencies that helped make Saturday possible include:

• Rincon Police Department
• Davis Tire
• Coastal Window Tinting
• Kermit’s Auto Detailing
• Sloane’s Sound Advice
• Wilkes Body Shop
• DeWitt Insurance
• Express Oil Change
• Advance Auto in Rincon
• Residents of Effingham