RIVERSIDE, Mo. — For the 25th year, Christmas came early for 20 families in need of a vehicle.
The Cars 4 Heroes Christmas event was held Friday morning at Argosy Hotel and Casino in Riverside.
Cars 4 Heroes provides free basic transportation to veterans, active duty military, first responders and their families who are unable to get a vehicle.
During the holidays, the program is expanded to reach more families, and the need is strong, organizers say.
“I get 15,000 applications a year so we’re not running out of people that need help," Terry Franz said.
Franz, aka "Car Santa," organized the event and estimates since it started, thousands of vehicles have been handed out.
"We just gave basic transportation that got them to point B to point B," Franz said. "Some weren’t pretty, but it got them where they need to go."
