Step Up Savannah is excited to announce that Kiairah Johnson, a 2022 graduate of the Step Up Savannah Chatham Apprentice Program (CAP), will be the beneficiary of a car giveaway sponsored by the Step One Automotive Group for the 2022 United Way transportation fund. Step One Automotive and Step Up Savannah will host the special presentation on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at noon at Step One Automotive, located at 1100 Chatham Parkway, Savannah, Ga 31405.

Through the Chatham Apprentice Program, Kiairah was able to apply for her Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC) and received a new employment placement at FedEx. However, like many in our community, Kiairah would have to navigate a means to get to work. “We are thrilled someone as deserving as Kiairah will receive this life-changing gift.” said Executive Director, Alicia M. Johnson. “Not having county-wide transit in our community is a real barrier to our residents’ economic mobility. Without it, we are essentially landlocking our most impoverished into essential jobs without livable wages and asset-building opportunities like 401Ks and health insurance that could change the quality of life for many in our community. Having this car essentially jumpstarts Kiairah’s journey into economic mobility and puts her on a pathway to success.”

“At Step One, our envision is to empower lives through smarter and easier ways of accessing mobility. This might seem like a very simple goal. But if you think about how crucial access to reliable mobility can be for someone’s quality of life, economic stability, and independence, you will begin to understand the importance. And for this reason, we are so proud and excited to share the gift of mobility with our Step Up Savannah beneficiary, Ms. Kiairah Johnson,” said Maja Ciric, Marketing Manager for Step One Automotive Group.

Once notified of Kiairah being the recipient, Pastor Charles Roberson of Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship, a Step Up Savannah board member, stepped up with the church to underwrite the cost of the taxes, tag, and title. “Step Up Savannah wants to express our utmost gratitude and appreciation to Step Up One Automotive, United Way, and Kingdom Life Christian Fellowship for making this possible for Kiairah as she starts her journey towards economic mobility,” said Alicia M. Johnson, executive director of Step of Savannah. “It is because of local programs working in a collaboration that we can achieve success stories such as Kiairah’s.”