Virginia Beach, Va.- New developments surround a Virginia Beach teenager taking action for the homeless. We told you earlier this week that Mariah Smith's charity had hit a rough spot because the van she and her mom use to hand out blankets and food to the homeless needed repairs.
Well, a generous viewer is taking action for Mariah in more ways than one.
Mariah Smith is all smiles now, so too is her adoptive mother Moira Askew.
"We're just so very grateful and I thank God for touching the hearts of people like this gentleman," says Askew.
That gentleman is Sal Faraci, owner of United Auto Wholesalers who says, "When I heard this story I said like whoa, we gotta help out."
Sal caught our story on Tuesday about this Virginia Beach teen's charity, Blankets For the Homeless. Night after night, Mariah and her mother use the van to take blankets, clothes and food to the homeless, but it's been breaking down a lot and it was becoming a safety issue.
Money is a little tight. They just had a major repair bill for Mariah's car, plus there's Mariah's college tuition payments. Sal is taking action saying the repair is on the house!
So Sal grabbed a special device that could scan the check engine light that was coming on to get answers. The good news: it's just a couple of bad sensors. Sal says he just needs to order the parts. It's a minor repair.
But then he added this: "Another thing, after I do fix this, if they ever have any problems, all they gotta do is pick up the phone and call me and no charge. I'll make sure the vehicle is on the road all the time. And if we can't get it on the road all the time, like I said we will replace it."
It all left mom fighting back tears and giving Sal a hug.
"Thank you so much God bless you," says Askew.
This had been such a heavy burden for them. Sal says this is just his small way to help their special charity. Mariah's mom says it's so much more. "This is a big part. You're keeping us on the road. This is amazing. We've been so worried about this," says Askew.
A lot of our viewers called and emailed wanting to take action for Blankets for the Homeless including a local promoter, Kevin Ramey with Rock Universe Live Entertainment. They will be holding a benefit concert for Blankets for the Homeless on Sunday from 3-9 p.m. at Iguana Bar and Grill (1083 W. 37th Street in Norfolk). Tickets will be $5. Six local bands will be featured at the concert.
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