Feb. 3, 2022—SHIFT Garage, a nonprofit volunteer-based repair shop in South Dakota, is adding a second location in Sioux Falls, the Lufkin Daily News reported.
The second location comes about a decade after the nonprofit was started by Joe Smith in Rapid City, S.D. The goal is to help people get their vehicles up and running so they can return to their lives easily, he said. Overall, such a simple fix can make an impact on generational poverty, he added.
“A car breaking down shuts down your whole system when you’re living paycheck to paycheck,” Smith said. “You have to make a decision on financing and signing your life away to simply drive to work.”
The Rapid City location repairs about 150 vehicles and sells between 25 and 30 donated program vehicles a year. The demand is so high in Rapid City alone, where the nonprofit has more volunteers and twice the amount of working hours, that clients have to wait two months to fit in the schedule.
