LAKE WALES, Fla. — The Lake Wales Care Center is a faith-based, non-profit agency providing help and hope for those in need across the Greater Lake Wales area, offering assistance with housing, food, medical, and transportation.
The Care Center operates with about 90 employees and nearly 2,000 volunteers.
Community donations, grants, church partnerships, and sliding scale program fees help keep this mission moving forward.
In a single year, the Care Center impacts more than 5,000 families, from delivering meals to helping families secure housing or income.
"I have been here for over 40 years, raised my children here, grandchildren now, and this is just an awesome community, very strong community spirit. Care Center is just one byproduct of that," says Rob Quam, the director of the Lake Wales Care Center.
"There's so many, so many gems in this community that are birthed out of the passion and compassion that our local folks have, again, to try to help their neighbors," said Quam.
One of the Care Center's most hands-on programs sits inside a downtown bike shop.
Donated bicycles are repaired and refurbished, providing reliable transportation for people who can't afford a car or may not have a license.
For many, a bike means the difference between missing work and making it on time.
Dwayne Goldman runs the bike program.
"So one of the one of the gentlemen not too long ago, was working in Dundee, which is probably like good, almost 20 miles, 15-20 miles, walking from Lake Wales to Dundee to work. And so he came by here to get a bike. Needed something to help him with his transportation. So it cut his just his travel down from just over an hour to a lot less than that. So it gave him more time with his family and more time to just, just to live life, instead of just getting back and forth to work," explains Goldman.
Many of the bikes are earned by clients who volunteer their time, learning how to maintain the very bike they'll ride home.
Others are sold at affordable prices through the Care Center's thrift stores and online sales.
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