How to host a Single Mom's Oil Change at your church

The single mom's free oil change is one of the best events we do in order to be a bridge of God's love to our community. Interested in doing one in your town? Here is how:
1. Find a location. We have done these oil changes in school parking lots, business parks, and housing communities. Look for locations with high visibility, and universal community ties.
2. Establish a knowledgeable mechanic in your congregation who can oversee, and sign off on every vehicle. This person does not need to be licensed as a mechanic, but it doesn't hurt.
3. Write out a waiver form. The mom's need to understand while the event is meant to help them, we are not an auto shop. (this also gets you a person's name and address: we always mail an invite to church, and an invite for the next upcoming oil change)
4. Establish a plan for moms/kids while their car is serviced. We usually have an inflatable for kids, and food/coffee for the moms.
5. Have enough oil on hand. We take oil donations weeks in advance. Also, consider some of the other fluids you can top off.. like window washing fluid, and brake fluid.
6. Work out a plan with local Napa store. You will need oil filters for each car. Usually, they allow us to sign for a bunch of them, (the common ones) and return what we don't use. We also always have runners available for uncommon filters we might need during the event. (Never drain the oil out of a vehicle without having a new oil filter in hand)
7. Plan your event, and publicize it I suggest max 2hrs. It is hard to maintain momentum for longer than that. Only publicize for what you will be able to handle. A good starting number is to plan for 20 cars. More than that will be quite overwhelming for a 1st effort.
8. Have enough ramps, tools and oil pans to be able to change oil in 3-4 cars simultaneously. This depends on how much help you have, but 3-4 stations is the best way to keep things moving.
9. Have a clipboard and pen, and new oil filter with the waiver form stay with the vehicle at all times. This will allow your oil changers to write any information about the car that will be helpful to the owner on the form. (like suggesting a tire rotation, or noting that the car was very low on oil when it arrived)
10. Draw a map out showing the intended flow of "traffic" for a single mom when she arrives. Know where she will be greeted, who will talk to her, where she will be asked to step out and your driver take the wheel of the vehicle, where the car will go throughout the process, (think of it like a automatic car wash, and what order of steps work sequentially) and where the mom will be returned to the car.

The goal of this process is to meet an immediate need, share the love of Jesus Christ, and find out other needs the mother might have at home. Be sure to follow up on every need she is willing to share with you, even if this means directing her to another ministry that will be able to help her.

(Oh, don't you dare try to verify that she is indeed a single mom. If you are thinking about this right now, you probably missed the point of why the event is being held in the 1st place. Go to the top of the post and try it again)

Questions?