Lameisha Moon frequently takes her son to two or three doctor’s appointments a day, she said. She started crying Christmas Eve when Chevrolet of Homewood owner Steve Phillipos presented her with a new car.
Her son, 8-month-old Jahmyr Moon, was born significantly disabled as a result of a difficult birth where he went 20 minutes without oxygen. Though Jahmyr survived, he was left with serious disabilities, including cerebral palsy.
“It’s a blessing to us,” Moon said. “I’ve been taking transportation with my son. He’s on oxygen, he is on a heart monitor. I carry a lot.”
This is the 11th year Chevrolet of Homewood has held its Chevy Cares giveaway, where it gives away a new Chevrolet to someone in need, entirely free. The dealership asks people to write about how a car would change their life.
“It’s not just a luxury. To have a car, think about this, you take your mother to the hospital,” Phillipos said. “Sadly, this young lady is going to be taking a child to the hospital. Right now, she’s waiting for an Uber. Nothing against Uber or anyone else, but you have a sick baby, is that what you want to do?”
About 400 people entered the giveaway this year, Phillipos estimated. Chevrolet of Homewood employees volunteer to help sift through the applications and narrow down the pool to a few top candidates.
“That was God, right there,” Moon said, recalling how she felt when she got called and informed she was a finalist.
Moon’s aunt and cousin convinced her to enter the giveaway. Her cousin, Samiyah Moon, said she had also applied, but that she couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than Lameisha.
Tom Mulrenin used to be one of the employees who helped to go through applications. He’s since retired, but said he still comes back every year to see the giveaway.
“I just thought, what a wonderful thing to do for people,” Mulrenin said. “Especially this time of year.”
Phillipos said he was inspired to start the giveaway after his dealership was rocked by a period of instability.
“The car business took a complete dump during the recession. People were closing down dealerships,” Phillipos said. “I said to myself, man, just let me get through this and I’m going to try to do something nice every year.”
The dealership tries to do good in the community all year, Phillipos said, but the giveaway is the grand finale.
“I was watching a movie with my kids, and it was “Miracle on 34th Street.” And the slogan came up of, ‘Do you believe in miracles?'” Phillipos said. “And you know what? I kind of do. And that’s how this started.”
Phillipos said he hopes to keep the giveaway going as long as he can.
“I’m a lucky guy, I really am. This could’ve went different, 10, 12 years ago, when the car business took the dump,” Phillipos said. “If everybody that does OK — or well, and I do well, I’m not going to lie — just gives a little something back to somebody else, we can make this a better place. We really can.”
Phillipos said it’s difficult to choose a winner with so many people in need, but said he tries to choose someone whose life will be genuinely changed by the gift.
“You read these stories, I kid you not, you want to pour gasoline on yourself and hit yourself with a match,” Phillipos said. “There’s so many sad stories, you can’t help everybody. So we narrow it down to how the car can change somebody’s life.”
In addition to the car, a 2026 Chevrolet Trax, the dealership also paid off the sales tax for Moon, filled the tank with gas and paid for her first three months of insurance.
“When she drives out of there, she has to worry about nothing. Nothing,” Phillipos said. “Not a stinking thing.”
Moon said the car is going to make a huge difference in her life.
“I don’t have to worry about buses or my insurance. I can get up and go in my own vehicle. I know we’re going to be warm. All his stuff can fit,” Lameisha Moon said. “We don’t have to worry about danger, people staring at me, asking questions, staring at my son. It’s going to change my life.”
Phillipos said he tries to stay in touch with former recipients and see how they’re doing. Former winners include an elderly couple caring for their great-granddaughter, an Oak Lawn mother of six and a couple with two sons with epilepsy.
“Hopefully, when they’re 40 years from now, they’re going to say, some cheesy car dealership helped me and gave me a car, and my life changed,” Phillipos said.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
