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Eliot Middleton: A restaurant owner and former mechanic who fixes old cars and donates them to those in need.
Melanie Lee's 33-year-old son had been very sick for several years, and each day she drove from her home in rural South Carolina to Charleston to visit him.
Sadly, her son passed away and soon afterward, so did her 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe from the two-hour round trips.
Melanie desperately needed a car to help her care for her two granddaughters 12 and 6, to pick them up from school and take them to dance class.
And to grocery shop and to do other chores.
Then last Christmas day, Eliot arrived unannounced at her home.
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Although Melanie didn't know Eliot, he gave her the keys to a refurbished 1993 Oldsmobile, a free gift to her.
"This car meant everything to me," she told The Washington Post. "It was so needed."
Eliot, co-owner of Middleton & Maker Village BBQ, receives donations of old cars, or pays for them in free food to donors.
When not running his restaurant, Eliot, a former mechanic repairs these cars and donates them to people in need in rural South Carolina.
"There's a lack of transportation in the rural areas," he told The Post. Often there are no busses, no taxis, no Uber. And it can be hard getting to work to support their families.
"[And] I knew I could use my previous experience to help."
Some cars need minor repairs, or new tires, some need a major overhaul. Others he scraps for parts.
"It's been a real team effort," said Eliot. In addition to donating cars, people volunteer to help.
"I can't express how much the support means to me," added Eliot.
"It has been a wonderful, life-altering experience, and we're just getting started."
Editor's Note:To learn more, visit https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/07/07/car-repair-restaurant-eliot-middleton/.
In the next KazanToday: Al Nixon: Uplifting the world one person at a time.
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