Case Study Template
Case Studies should not exceed 5 single spaced type-written pages.
NOTE: Completed case studies will be posted on the Lancaster County Community Foundation (LCCF)’s website.
REQUIRED ELEMENTS
Each case study should answer the following questions, and should be written with a storyline, rather than in term paper format. Please see Page 2 for an example.
1. What is the title of your Project?
2. What is the project’s purpose or need it is addressing?
3. How did you anticipate meeting those needs?
4. How did you come up with the “seed of an idea” for the project?
5. What people and resources did you connect with to move the project along?
6. What steps did you take to implement the project?
7. What change did you think would occur in participant’s life as a result of the project?
8. What worked and what did not work?
9. What were the course corrections along the way?
10. What were the quantitative and qualitative program results? The answer to this question should include the following information:
√ What positive difference did your project make in the lives of people living in Lancaster County?
(Include one quantitative and one qualitative measurement in your answer.)
√ Does this project have the potential of acting as a catalyst for broader change in the future? If so, how? If not, why not?
Wheels to Work Project; a program of the Lancaster Council of Churches: Case Study – 12/30/10
For many years, the Lancaster County Council of Churches has administered a program called the Wheels to Work program that provides bikes to those who need transportation to jobs to become self-sufficient. But several things happened that began to impact Scott Fischer’s (the Executive Director of LCC) thinking about this program. The first was his involvement in the County 10 year “Plan to End Homelessness” which looked at all the steps necessary for a person to move from homelessness to a stable living situation. The second was the donation of a car from a member of Highland Presbyterian church.
At the time, LCCC did not accept car donations. But, there was a resident who lived at Tabor’s Transitional Living Center (TLC) who had a job driving truck to Philadelphia for Kegel’s Produce. Although he spent his day driving to and from Philadelphia and throughout the city, he used a bike through the Wheels to Work bicycle program to get to work every day. His day started at 4 a.m. He often had to deal with flat tires on the way to work and several times was pulled over by the police questioning him about what he was doing and where he was going. Scott decided to give the donated car to this individual. The independence that came with owning a car was tremendous. It led to him moving out of TLC and into an apartment of his own. Scott was beginning to see the tremendous impact that dependable transportation in the form of a car can make in someone’s life.
At the time, there was a program on the state level that gave a $750 cash allowance to qualified buyers to purchase a car. But, the process was lengthy, not easy, and the reality of it was that for $750, the buyer did not receive a dependable mode of transportation. Undependable transportation creates additional expenses and undermines an individual’s ability to get to work either on time or at all due to break-downs.
Several other key things happened; Scott was invited to attend a Federal Reserve conference in Baltimore, he attended the LCCF Fellow retreat, and a Millersville student began to intern for LCCC. At the conference, Scott made a number of important contacts including meeting staff from the Vehicles for Change Program. At the Fellow’s retreat, the fellows were asked to write their obituary and think about what they wanted their legacy to be. Scott realized that he wanted to be known for having established the Wheels to Work program not only utilizing bikes, but also cars. So, over the next months, Scott carved out time to pursue this idea. Mary Glazier from Millersville University (MU) contacted him about a student who was looking for an internship. As it turned out, Amanda, the MU intern, knows a lot about cars and took over the primary role of researcher. Over the next period of time, Amanda pulled together supporting information, documented the need and outcomes of existing programs, documented the different types of programs, and explored the operational requirements. Amanda’s work – a business plan of sorts, acted as the foundational base for creating the new program.
LCCC also knew they needed to get a dealer’s license. Steve Rupe, owner of Keim Pre-Owned, acted as an advisor and recommended a consultant, Chuck Rettew, to help with this process. Luckily the LCCC site qualified as a location for the license. LCCC also needed to address the issue of loans. Research and conversations with Community Auto, a similar organization in Western PA, indicted that $2,500 to $4,000 per car was realistic in order to purchase a reliable car. They explored working with community partners such as Tabor Community Services, but they didn’t have the capacity to manage the loans. Out of an idea from the Federal Reserve conference, Scott approached Metro Bank. Metro Bank was excited about the idea, but needed collateral to support a loan program. The idea was not only to provide the individual with a loan to purchase the car, but to also use the loan to build and improve their credit. LCCC applied to the Lancaster County Community Foundation for a $100,000 grant from the Innovation Fund. They received this funding and some of these dollars are being used as the collateral to support the loan program.
But, the story doesn’t stop there. Scott’s conversations about the LCCC Wheels to Work program helped facilitate the creation of a new program on the state level that provides up to $4,000 to qualified individuals to purchase a car or up to $1,500 for vehicle repairs. This new program in combination with LCCC’s Wheels to Work program of providing loans up to $1,500 creates more opportunities for individuals to get new jobs and/or maintain their current employment, grow their credit and work towards a stable life for themselves.
Currently, there is only one other similar program near Pittsburgh. Scott hopes that someday there will be a program like Wheels to Work in every community in Pennsylvania.
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