Turning the family car “back into trees”

Posted on March 10, 2010 at 1:55 pm

Amelia is pulled by her father and Friends of Trees Board Member Paul Garrahan. In the background is their 1986 Volvo 240, which the Garrahans donated to Friends of Trees last year. (Garrahan Family)

By Paul Garrahan

I bought my old Volvo used, five years old, around the same age as many of the trees we plant. I subsequently drove it for 19 years.

It took me hiking, camping, biking and running. I slid through snowstorms in it. I prevailed through law school with it. I worked on political campaigns with it.

4402538580 3040ae7ab5 Turning the family car back into trees

Amelia, 4, sits above her dad, Paul, at last summer's Friends of Trees Volunteer Picnic. (FOT file)

It came across country with my wife and me (alas, ferried by a friend on a wild ride through Colorado, Utah and California). I shuttled my kids in it as babies and for their preschool years.

It was part of me.

So, needless to say, when it came time to part with it, and to move to a more environmentally-friendly hybrid, it was a bittersweet moment.

Its book value was a fraction of its sentimental value.

By donating the car to Friends of Trees, I feel like I was able to reap some karmic return on my sentimental investment. It closed the loop on a car I loved for many, many years—having its final value (admittedly, not much) transferred to an organization I love.

And, ultimately, back into trees.

More information on the Friends of Trees vehicle donation program is available online.

Garrahan is an attorney for Metro and Friends of Trees Board Member.

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