My Favorite Ride: The Coffee Lady is back on the road in a Toyota Camry
If my faith in the goodness of humanity begins to wane, I'll think about Heather Lake. She's the Bloomington woman who delivers coffee on Saturday mornings to unhoused people who gather in Seminary Park.
I wrote about Heather, known also as The Coffee Lady, last week. The 2007 Dodge Caliber she drove to transport the gallons of coffee, and also food and warm clothing, had some issues beyond fixing.
My Favorite Ride: Seminary Park's 'Coffee Lady' needs a new ride to keep her mission going
She's 52, receives disability income and lives in subsidized housing. Before a friend sold her the Caliber for $1,000 a few years ago, her mode of transportation was Bloomington Transit buses.
Without a car, Lake's volunteer coffee service wasn't possible. A friend who worried the vehicle might break down any day convinced Lake she had to get a dependable replacement.
He offered to create an online fundraiser, but Lake worried people might think she was greedy. But unable to afford a car, she finally agreed.
From here, the story goes kind of fairy tale. Once upon a time there was a 2011 Toyota Camry an IU music school student traded in at Royal Chevrolet in Bloomington. The sticker price was $12,900, but a salesman said he'd let Heather have the car for 10 grand.
Craig Stewart's GoFundMe effort, started on a Thursday, had raised $8,000 by Saturday morning. When the car dealership's owner learned of the effort, he lowered the price to that amount.
The fundraiser surpassed its $9,000 goal; 150 donors, most of them anonymous, gave a total of $10,415 to get Heather back on the coffee route.
The money will cover the cost of the car plus sales tax, registration fees and an insurance policy. The rest, and whatever Lake can sell her Dodge for, will be donated to the Bloomington Homeless Coalition.
I stopped by the car lot to take a picture of the Camry the afternoon Heather picked it up. We snuck away with the keys and got inside. She nearly cried. "This is the nicest car I've ever had."
In a sometimes cold and harsh world, stories such as this can reground a person, set you straight. There you go.
More good news
An expanded and early morning version of Cars & Coffee is coming, still on Saturdays but at different time and location. I expect lots of great cars on hand.
2019 event: Cars & Coffee season finale Saturday
For many reasons, the expansive parking lot at The Herald-Times, where we held the event for several seasons, isn't an option. But members of Bloomington-based Midwest Phantoms Car Club will be hosting what they're calling "Cars & Breakfast at The Moose."
The first event will be 7-10 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at Moose Lodge #1081, 840 S. Cory Lane. The lodge will be open and selling coffee and breakfast. April 23 is the rain date.
If all goes well, the plan is to have an event every month through the summer and fall. Monroe County's COVID-19 safety guidelines will be in place. See you there!
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: My Favorite Ride: The Coffee Lady is back on the road in a Toyota
