TYLER, Texas — On Saturday, More than 30 antique and high-end cars squeezed into the Traditions parking lot off South Broadway in Tyler for an impromptu car show. Each car was remarkable in its own way, but one car had everyone's attention.
"Found this one down in the Lufkin/Nacogdoches area," said Car Show Committee Member Robert Dodd. "A 1965 Mustang, got a little six-cylinder in it. Four-speed transmission and we put air conditioning on it."
For months, raffle tickets have been sold for the chance to win a vintage mustang, with all the proceeds going to the East Texas Crisis Center. Dodd says every year the East Texas Mustang Club finds a car, fixes it up and lets them raffle it off.
The crisis center is a nonprofit dedicated to providing emergency shelter, counseling and advocacy to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in East Texas.
The partnership between the crisis center and the car show may be a bit surprising at first glance, but it's a relationship that's decades old.
"Thirty-one years ago a group of car guys here in East Texas found a passion with the crisis center," Dodd said. "They saw what they did for the community and saw they were nonprofit and they wanted to help."
Originally this car show was supposed to be in February at Harvey Hall but was canceled because of COVID. Thus this impromptu car show was born. However, the location didn't really matter to them. It was all about raising money for the Crisis Center.
"Housing in our emergency shelter, crisis intervention, counseling, legal advocacy," are just a few ways the money can help Executive Director of the East Texas Crisis Center Lana Peacock said.
When the time came to stop selling tickets, more than 11,000 were sold reaching a total of more than $110,000.
The hope is next year everything with COVID-19 will be cleared up and they'll be able to return to Harvey Hall.