Most shop classes teach students that through study and hard work they can improve their life on their own, by repairing and improving the things in their life. But high school students in Windsor, Ontario learned something else to: They can use these skills to make a major difference in someone else’s life.

The E J Lajeunesse French-Catholic school in Windsor runs a special program: Rebuilding Wheels, Rebuilding Lives. Each year, the shop class refurbishes a used car, learning how to inspect and rebuild all its systems to get it back on the road. Then at the end of the year the students gift it to a member of their community in need.

How does the school choose a beneficiary? It partners with the United Way nonprofit which runs an application process. Overall, the program is a real win-win.

This year’s class rehabbed a 2011 Jeep Compass with just 48,466 miles on the clock. Of course, the Jeep Compass is a special vehicle for Ontario natives because it is assembled at the nearby Brampton plant, just across the river from Detroit. The shop teacher said of the car: “It was a great candidate, didn’t need a lot of repairs…But it did need some some repairs on the suspension, you know, tuning up the engine, oil changes, your regular maintenance items and stuff like that.”

Going over any car, bumper-to-bumper, teaches important life skills. Tenth grader Graziella Mocri said, “I feel a lot more comfortable with working on cars…Or if I ever have to help my father with his car, now I can help him, and even if he doesn’t know, I might know.”

This specific car meant a lot more than just a project to the students. Tenth greader Cielle Levesque said, “This isn’t just a regular car. This is a car we’re going to fix up entirely. We’re going to make sure everything is perfect for this family.” And of handing it off she admitted, “I’ve been looking forward to this since we started.”

This year’s beneficiary Ifeoma Ihedioha who moved to Canada from Nigeria five years ago. She admits she’s been getting around with her kids via buses and cabs and the occasional ride from her friends.

Of the gift, she said, “I lack words; I really can’t find the right words to express my gratitude to the students, teachers, donors, partners, the United Way itself…It really has not been easy as a single mom, [as an] immigrant … I am grateful.”

On the day she received her new-to-her Jeep, she said she’s taking herself on a “drive around town” before she goes to pick her kids up at school.

Since the program began in 2014, it has enlisted over 500 students and repaired 17 vehicles for donation.

See the students present Ifeoma’s new car to her in the video below: