MANSFIELD — When April Fletcher saw her new car, the first thing she thought of was the crystal waters of the Caribbean.
“She’s as blue as the ocean,” Fletcher whispered while stepping into the lobby of Graham Chevrolet. “We went to the Bahamas last year for the first time and she reminds me of the color of the ocean from what I saw when I was on the cruise.”
Fletcher was randomly chosen as this year’s recipient of the Win a Chevy Trax 2025 fundraiser benefitting the United Way of Richland County.
The Shiloh resident said she bought her tickets in the fall, but never imagined she might actually win.
“I don’t look at it that way,” Fletcher said Friday morning. “I always donate to United Way. So to me, it was like, ‘Oh, good. I get another chance to do it.'”
Fletcher said the timing is perfect, since the lease on her husband’s Jeep is about to expire.
“We were actually getting ready to go into the market to have to buy a car or keep the Jeep,” she said. “We were trying to decide what to do. This made it easy.”
Fletcher said she and her husband Roy are “all about giving.” The couple sponsors a child through World Vision and for years she volunteered with a food pantry in Shiloh.
She regularly gives to United Way because she trusts the organization will use the funds to make a positive impact.
“United Way funds so many different charities within our community. To me, it’s not giving a handout, it’s … to help somebody,” Fletcher said.
“I’m just one person, but when we get a bunch of us together, we can do a lot in the community.”
Chevy giveaway has raised almost $100,000 in five years
This is the fifth year Graham Chevrolet has partnered with United Way to donate a new vehicle as part of the non-profit’s annual fundraising campaign.
“Because of Graham’s generosity, we’ve raised nearly $100,000 towards United Way programming,” said Dan Varn, United Way of Richland County’s executive director.
Ken Williams, general manager and vice president of Graham Chevrolet, said he’s enjoyed supporting the organization and the heartwarming stories of winners.
“We’re so happy to be with the United Way. Hopefully we can keep this tradition going for years to come,” Williams said.
This year’s contest sold out with 1,000 tickets and raised $21,000 for United Way. Varn said Friday morning that United Way is about $24,000 away from its campaign goal of $1.6 million. The campaign ends March 11.
United Way provides financial support to 14 agencies and 50 programs across the Richland County, according to board chair Brian White.
They include Catalyst Life Services, Community Health Access Project (CHAP), Independent Living Center of North Central Ohio, Third Street Family Health Services, the Richland County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, the Domestic Violence Shelter, the Salvation Army, Wayfinders, Friendly House, Raemelton Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Girl Scouts of Ohio Heartland Council, Mid Ohio Youth Mentoring and Community Action for Capable Youth.
“We have a group of wonderful organizations that really are boots-on-the ground making these things happen and supporting community in all the ways they do,” Varn added.
‘I just donated because it was a good thing to donate to’
Varn said notifying the winners is always a fun phone call — but it took a little effort Friday morning.
Doc Stumbo, a former Graham Chevrolet employee well-known for his activism and philanthropic efforts, initially drew the name ‘May Fletcher’ from a bowl of entries.
But there was no ‘May Fletcher’ on the ticket list.
Varn ultimately determined the error was likely due to Excel sheet misidentifying ‘April’ as a month, rather than a person’s first name.
Varn then called Fletcher and the call dropped as soon as she picked up the phone. When he tried calling back, Fletcher assumed it was a prank call and sent it to voicemail.
Fortunately, Fletcher listened to the voicemail and called back.
“I’m a happy to let you know you’ve just won a new car!” Varn told her.
“Are you serious?” Fletcher asked, sniffling back tears. “Oh my gosh. I just donated because it was a good thing to donate to.”
Varn said that’s a response he’s heard from multiple winners.
“To hear her say, ‘I didn’t even expect to win. I just wanted to be supportive,’ that certainly means a lot,” Varn said. “That’s what we’ve heard so many times. That speaks about this community.”
