ROCHESTER, Minn. - Around 120 classic cars lined up at Jim's Auto Care for a car show fundraiser for the Harberts family.
On September 7th, Rachel Harberts of Dodge Center was rear-ended while driving herself and her two children to school. 8-year-old Emerson was dead at the scene, and Rachel later passed away in the hospital. 12-year-old Jaxon was injured in the crash, and a friend of the family tell KIMT he is recovering well, and has recently begun to speak again but is having some issues with short-term memory.
All donations are being given to Brandon Harberts, husband of Rachel and father of Emerson and Jaxon. Brandon is a fan of old cars, as are many of the family friends who put together the event. Jacki and Steve Faulhaber coordinated the efforts. "He's a car guy. I'm a huge car guy, so what better thing to do than put on a car show? Car people are good people," says Steve.
"It's a crazy thing. It's hard to explain. Everybody's like family," expliains Jason Ogilvie about the bonds created over classic cars. Ogilvie has known Brandon since high school, and sold T-shirts with Brandon's '66 Buick LaSabre on it to raise money for the family at the event.
Money was raised through a variety of ways including a silent auction, raffle, T-shirt sales, cash donations, and a part of the proceeds of El Carambas serving food at the show. Pepsi donated pop and Pannekoeken donated coffee. The proceeds will help the Harberts with medical expenses and whatever else they may need. The car show attracted national attention and people from across the country have donated to the cause. "I think that's the part that stands out the most to me, is just people that don't know the family at all that are donating. It's just really cool," says Jacki Faulhaber.
The goal was to raise $25,000, but the Faulhabers collected $10,000 in cash donations before the event even started. People who missed the event but still want to donate can make checks out to Brandon Harberts and send them to Jim's Auto Care.
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