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MOORESVILLE Ernestine Simpson's 1999 Dodge Intrepid has always been a taxi without a fare.
Even since her car quit in September, Simpson has still found a way to get people in need to the grocery store and doctor appointments: She borrows her daughter's or niece's car.
And she does it despite suffering chronic pain throughout her body. She also was diagnosed in 2004 with breast cancer, which is in remission.
"Whatever is needed, I try my best to do," Simpson, 54, said when I visited her home on Cabarrus Avenue last week.
Her car sat in disrepair in the yard, but it won't be sitting there long.
Unbeknownst to Simpson, friend Dianne Miller nominated her for a free car makeover that's part of a new community effort to honor deserving Lake Norman-area residents.
Two other residents won a "day of pampering" as part of the program dreamed up by Pat Helmandollar of Savvy Salon & Day Spa in Cornelius.
Helmandollar approached Lori Frascati, co-host of the "MI-Community Connection" local cable TV program, and Frascati got word out on her show and Web site, www.LKNSavings.com.
Simpson never suspected until a group of businesspeople approached her at the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce business expo Oct. 29. Simpson, a sales rep for Organo Gold gourmet coffee, had a booth there.
"Usually I'm not speechless, but I was speechless," she said.
Now a host of auto experts will descend on her car.
Dirty Boys Pressure Washing & Auto Detailing of Mooresville, which came up with the idea of a car makeover, will do interior detailing.
The Mooresville location of Excel Collision Center of the Carolinas will do any exterior work, and Rimz One of Mooresville will give her new wheels and tires.
Genuine Car Care Center of Mooresville will do the mechanical work. The Dodge needs a new alternator, CV joint and headlight covers.
Miller attends a Bible study with Simpson at Tabernacle of Joy Ministry in Mooresville. She knows the countless hours Simpson volunteers at the church, including fixing bags of food for people in need.
Sometimes Simpson's pain is so bad that it's difficult to get out of bed in the morning. But she knows her mission, "for the glory of God," is to get up and help people, she said.
