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We offer more than charity car donation services – someone once donated a submarine! Even unusual donations to Volunteers of America Delaware Valley help people in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Naturally we make it fast and easy to donate a used car or truck. After all, we’re called Cars Helping People. Even a junk car can feed, house and pay for valuable services to people in our area who need help. But sometimes generous people go above and beyond to help people and you wouldn’t believe what they donate!

Our most unusual donation? Has to be the yellow submarine.

Once upon a time an automotive engineer got it in his head to build a working submarine and explore the vast deep of the Great Lakes. With a little time and a lot of ingenuity this enterprising mariner built a fully functional 8000-pound submarine (for two, so he could bring a friend). It was fully pressurized so he could dive as deep as 1000 feet below the surface. His final touch - a coat of bright yellow paint. Don’t ask why…maybe he was a Beatles fan. Maybe he just had a sense of humor. The yellow submarine even had a specially built trailer that could swing the sub over the lake and lower it gently down into the waves.

Use the form to the right for our car donation services, even if you’re donating a yellow submarine!

He used it to explore beneath the surface of Lake Superior for a few years, then decided his days in the deep were over. His wife may have had some influence on the decision. When he was building the sub the engineer equipped it with everything but a radio that could communicate with the surface. So every time he took the sub down his wife had to wait…and wait… until he popped back up. The engineer was familiar with the emergency food and shelters, senior housing and clinical services provided by Volunteers of America. He also knew about our car donation programs. What he didn’t know was whether our car donation services included submarines. It might surprise you, but we don’t get a lot of submarine donations. Used car donations…sure. Submarines…not so much.

When we picked up the toll free donation line that day we were treated to the single most unusual question we’ve ever been asked (at least so far) ”Can I donate my yellow submarine?” After we stopped laughing and realized he was serious we said, “Of course you can donate a submarine…” (not something we expected to say, ever). We picked the sub up just like any car in our car donation services, and eventually sold it for over $15,000 – enough to provide hot meals for over 20,000 needy people.

Whether you give to our car donation programs, or donate and apartment building or an airplane, 100% of your donation stays with Volunteers of America and helps people in New Jersey, Delaware and Metropolitan Philadelphia.

You can call Volunteers of America Chesapeake toll free at 877-721-4862 and donate almost anything. We’ve seen it all. Generous patrons have donated boats, golf carts, apartment buildings and aircraft. No matter what you donate – used car, property or an airplane we get you the right tax receipts so you can claim the maximum allowable deduction. And no matter what you donate, pick up is always free and fast…unless you happen to donate a building. In that case we’ll forget about pickup. No matter how unusual your donation is, it will help us fund important programs that aid needy people in New Jersey, Delaware and Greater Philadelphia. Life changing programs that help people get back on their feet, from helping homeless veterans to feeding and housing vulnerable seniors and children.

A donation of stocks or securities is one of the most effective ways to support life changing programs right here where you live.

Making a gift of stocks is a highly effective way to donate to charity, since stocks may offer you tax advantages that other donations don’t. In addition to getting a nice deduction on your federal taxes for the full market value of your stock, you may also be able to avoid capital gains if your stock has appreciated. In addition, if your donated stocks are used to fund a charitable trust or gift annuity you might enjoy additional estate and gift tax advantages.

If you’re considering making a charitable donation of stocks or securities, don’t sell them in order to donate the proceeds. Liquidating the stocks yourself could eliminate your tax benefits. Instead, tell your broker that you want to donate stock to charity and contact Volunteers of America toll free at 877-721-4862. Have your broker’s name and telephone number when you call, along with the name of the stock and number of shares you want to donate. Volunteers of America will then contact your broker. You will be notified of the contribution deduction based on the date of your securities transfer.

When we say the generosity of people who donate to Volunteers of America Delaware Valley is boundless – we mean it!

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