When Atlanta’s Q100’s The Bert Show shared the story of Will Stark, a recent widower who was suddenly faced with having to raise and financially support his six adopted special needs children on his own, we knew had to help.
Bert Weiss of The Bert Show reached out to Dustin Fleishman, General Manager at Team Nissan of Marietta, shortly after the death of Cheryl Stark. He told us that the family’s van had over 260,000 miles on it and that neither the air condition or the windows operated. We knew that the family had many other obstacles to deal with and we wanted to ease their burden as much as possible.
“I called up the general managers at each of our [10] Atlanta stores and told them what happened. I asked each for a donation from their store and they gladly helped,” said Dustin.
On August 9 during a live recording of The Bert Show, Team Automotive Group presented Will Stark and his family with a 2009 Ford E350 van. The 12-passenger van came with all the bells and whistles: power windows and locks, dual air conditioners, backup sensors, a six-year/100,000 mile guarantee and only 43,000 miles on it.
“It’s just a small token of our appreciation for what [Will Stark's] done,” said Ken Graham, Market President for Team Automotive Group.
With the help of Earl Matthews at Handicap Driver Services and Carolyn Polakowski at Fragile Kids, the vehicle is being equipped to fully meet the family’s needs, including outfitting the vehicle with a wheelchair lift.
Additionally, during the live show, The Bert Show presented the Stark family with funds from over 3,300 donations, which totaled $189,518.79. Will Stark, as you can imagine, was quite overwhelmed:
You can learn more about the Stark family in the the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Bert Show is continuing to accept donations for the Stark family. Visit them online or if you prefer to donate by cash or check, please make it out to “Stark Family” and send it to the following address:
The Stark Family c/o The Bert Show
780 Johnson Ferry Road NE
Fifth Floor
Atlanta, GA 30342
