As she drove her newly earned Volkswagen SUV for the first time Wednesday afternoon, single mother Kaina Dawkins, of Beacon, could barely wait to show her children, ages 2 and 3, the family's new ride.

"He's going to be happy," Dawkins said of her son. "I told him, 'I have a surprise for you when I pick you up.' He said, 'What surprise? McDonalds?'" Dawkins and five other applicants who have suffered because of a lack of transportation, earned the cars by completing Dutchess County's Way To Work program, a series of classes including money management, car care and defensive driving. The county's Workforce Investment Board has been offering the program for more than 25 years, providing 939 cars to local families. After once having to pause her pursuit of a teaching degree because her father fell ill and later crashing her father's car, Dawkins' life was thrown off. "That's why I had to get a job closer to home," she said. "I got into the car accident with his car, so I had to leave that job." Both their lives are about to change. "I don't like bothering him because he does so much for me," she said, "so when this [opportunity] came, I said I can finally leave my dad alone. I don't have to bother him."

Dawkins and other graduates were overwhelmed at a press conference at the Dutchess One Stop Career Center in Poughkeepsie, tearfully thanking county administrators and their families. Karmen Smallwood, Dutchess County's Assistant Commissioner of Youth Services, empathizes with today's graduates having faced similar challenges. Smallwood graduated from Way To Work a few years ago. She has since remained close to the program, and eventually donated the car she received upon completing the program back to Way To Work.

"I had to borrow rides and beg people just to get around to work, grocery shopping, or anywhere else," Smallwood recalled. The Workforce Investment Board purchased all six cars from a used car dealership, a spokesperson said, though some cars donated from individuals that are less than ten years old are also accepted.

Dawkins said that after she earns her degree next year she will consider teaching jobs at schools around the Hudson Valley.

"I'm looking at other places that are hiring," she said, "so I can see if I can go somewhere else that pays well, or stay in Beacon. I love Beacon."