At Carvana, a strong sense of community and family is as much a part of our DNA than anything else. There’s an undeniable pride that exists when it comes to our willingness and ability to band together for a common goal. Whether it be for a member of a community that we serve, or for a member of the Carvana family, being a force for good authentically lies at the heart of all that we do.
That spirit of goodwill was put on display towards the end of last year, when our team at Carvana’s Mesa hub rallied behind one of their own to help make a difference. The subject was Ram Reynolds, a lot attendant at the Mesa hub, who was a former Marine before making his way to Carvana last April. After being discharged from the military, Reynolds fell on hard times, and was even homeless for a period of time just as he got his start at Carvana.
“About four years ago, I was going through a bad marriage,” said Reynolds. “I tried to rectify things with my ex-wife. I spent roughly 24 hours with my kids and ex-wife and then she kicked me out. She told me I’d never see my kids again. I felt like I lost everything. I saved up and I flew out here to Arizona, and the best blessing I found was Carvana. They made me see a value in myself, and I’m blessed for that.
“At that time I was homeless. I made sure I worked everyday and then I got an apartment. Driving, it takes no time to get back and forth to work from where I stay, but walking it was a 30-minute walk everyday.”
Without a car, Reynolds routinely walked to and from work at all hours of the day and in all manner of weather, never once complaining about his situation or circumstances. Once he became a full-time Carvana employee, Reynolds had plans to purchase a wholesale vehicle from the company before that program was suspended.
“Ram exemplifies being scrappy,” said Le Quan Lewis, a Carvana Customer Advocate at the Mesa hub. “He’s more proactive than reactive. If he knows what’s going on with a vehicle, he’ll go and do it versus asking ‘What do I do next?’ People would find other ways and excuses as to why they can’t succeed in life or get to the next level because of the position they might be in. With Ram, instead of complaining, it’s just boots on the ground – no excuses.”
Inspired by Reynolds’ story, Lewis and fellow Advocate Branden Austin organized a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for a car for Ram. Together, Lewis and Austin were able to raise over $1,000, though funding began to stall by the end of October.
“In my down time, I was like, ‘I want to do something special for [Ram],’ because I kind of know that this is something he needs,” said Lewis. “And so Branden was like, ‘Yo, we can make a GoFundMe.’ I was like, ‘That would be great!’ Immediately, some of the Advocates threw in $5, $10. I was calling and looking all week long for cars and one guy responded and he dropped it off and we checked out the car. Then we went out there and were like, ‘Oh, we’re going to hold a meeting,’ and then we told [Ram].”
What Lewis left out was the fact that he and his wife pitched in $2,500 of their own money to help pay for the expenses around Ram’s car, helping the team land the vehicle just in time for Christmas.
“It was Christmas Eve, towards the end of the shift, our bosses called for basically a hub meeting and Le Quan shared that every year him and his wife look for people that they see are really trying to do their best to try and better themselves,” recalled Reynolds.
“[Le Quan] pulled out a key and said, ‘I got with everyone at the hub and we got you a car.’ When I saw everyone come together like that, I felt this is really the family I’m blessed to be part of. The car allowed me to have that freedom. If I want to go somewhere, I can now hop in the car and go somewhere. I am actually focusing on being able to drive the car out to see my daughter, as well as my parents.”
“Finding this job – this career – was a blessing I never expected.”
