An Iraq War veteran and his loved ones received an incredible gift Sunday from members of the community in North Kansas City, Missouri.
The Deron Cherry Foundation along with Cars 4 Heroes gave James Dilks and his family a refurbished vehicle at the Derron Cherry Second Annual Pickle Ball tournament and fundraiser, KSHB reported.
“We have to take care of our veterans — those folks that serve our country,” Deron Cherry told the outlet. “You know, they make the ultimate sacrifice. A lot of them are fortunate enough to come home, some of them aren’t. And the ones that come home, they need a little bit of help.”
The Deron Cherry Foundation began in 1992 and currently assists five charities in the area.
Dilks served with the Army Reserves and was later deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2004. He said he walks four miles to work daily and also walks his children to school. His wife is pregnant with their third child.
“I was just excited that… Like I said, I walk to work every day, and I walk her to school, so I’m just excited that we don’t have to do it anymore,” the veteran said.
Cars 4 Heroes refurbished the vehicle for Dilks and his family.
According to its website, the organization “provides free basic transportation to veterans, active-duty military, first responders, and their families that are unable to obtain it on their own.”
Cars 4 Heroes founder and director, Terry Franz, shared a photo of Dilks getting the keys to the vehicle:
“You never get tired of looking at their faces,” Franz explained, adding, “The biggest thing is the sigh of relief. ‘Oh, I can get the kids to the doctor, oh I can get to the grocery store.’ So it’s really not about a prize, but giving them the freedom to go out and do the things they need to do.”