When Engedi Refuge needed a new set of tires, our local Les Schwab was there for us. We wanted to share how this in-kind donation came about in a serendipitous way.

One of our employees happened to be in Les Schwab and mentioned that Engedi Refuge was going to need a new set of tires on one of our vehicles soon. Ryan Steward, the Manager at the Les Schwab tire store in Lynden, let her know about Les Schwab’s new Tires for Purpose program, and he handed her a flyer describing how to apply for a grant through the program.

Engedi Refuge’s development team applied for a Tires for Purpose grant, but then a couple of weeks passed, until a morning when one of our managers noticed that the existing tires on our van were no longer safe. She brought the problem to Aaron Newcomb, our Executive Director, who later that afternoon drove the van into the Lynden Les Schwab store to see about getting a new set of tires. Ryan and his team checked the van’s tires and informed Aaron that they didn’t have the special size it needed in stock. But Ryan said he could get them the very next day, and he made an appointment to work on Engedi’s van.   

The next morning, Ryan drove down to the Smokey Point Les Schwab to pick up the new tires for Engedi’s van. Just as he was leaving, he got a message from Brittni Sigman, at the Les Schwab headquarters in Bend, Oregon, that a Tires for Purpose grant had just been approved for his store. Ryan told Brittni, “Those are the tires I’m picking up right now!”