SAN ANTONIO – Amongst the hundreds of volunteers at this year’s Carfest will be a woman who said the gift of car repairs got her life back on track and out of a violent relationship.
Carfest is an event that brings people together with automotive professionals for help, education and fun.
"I ended up in a toxic relationship that went badly, so we packed up and left everything behind," Tiffany Klappenback said. "We had driven all the way to Florida and back to try to get away from the situation, and the car was really on its last legs."
KSAT caught up with Klappenback last year at the event, while her car was getting repaired for free. She said those repairs were essentially a license to freedom.
"I was able to get a license as a vet tech,” she said. “I work now with both large and small animals in a vet practice."
Klappenback said her life has taken a turn for the better and a large part of that came from the help and generosity shown by the people that helped fix her car.
"We have settled down in a great little area that we wouldn't have been able to settle down in without the car,” she said. “Everything has really taken a turn for the better."
This year she will be one of those people helping at Carfest.
"The community feel of it is something I've never felt before,” Klappenback said. “It's really an incredible program they are doing. And the number of people it took to pull this together is really unbelievable."
It was, in other words, an unbelievable gift, which will hopefully help other people get on the road to a better life.
Carfest will be held this weekend at the Freeman Expo Hall.
Click here for more information on car giveaways, education and games for the kids.
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