On October 1, 2017, the life of Dirk Baumgardner, of Shippensburg, changed forever. Baumgardner, his wife and two close friends were attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas when tragedy struck. A mass shooter opened fire from a hotel room on concertgoers on the concert venue below, killing nearly 60 people and injuring more than 500 others. Baumgardner, his wife and two friends all survived. 

Soon after, Baumgardner says he received a vision from God that would change the trajectory of his life and that of women overcoming hardship in his community. 

“I received a vision from the Holy Spirit that my wife and I were going to survive and do more in our lifetime to help people,” said Baumgardner. 

Two years later, the concept of helping women in need of transportation came into focus and he launched Wheels for Women. At the time, Baumgardner owned a car dealership and currently owns a truck and trailer leasing business and has donated vehicles to local nonprofits for years.   

“Our goal is to see how many women’s lives we can change, one vehicle at a time,” said Baumgardner. 

In 2022, he shared his vision with Community Cares, which has shelters for battered women in Carlisle and Shippensburg, and partnered with them on a pilot program to deliver trade-in vehicles from his car lot to women in need whom they referred. In 2023, they donated 10 cars, and by the next year, the program was so successful, they needed to expand. He partnered with more than six additional referral agencies and formed a full board for the nonprofit and asked John Massimilla, former vice president, WellSpan Health, and president, Chambersburg Hospital, to join.  

“At first, we were getting applications from all over the country because we had the application on our website,” said Baumgardner. “I advised that we take the application off the website and work through several referral agencies.”   

Wheels for Women does fundraising drives and applies to grants to foot the bill for vehicle purchases and inspections, which run from $6,000 to $8,000 per vehicle. To date, the nonprofit has raised nearly $350,000 and provided vehicles to 43 women to enable them to find or maintain employment, access health care appointments and feed their children. With a goal of raising $250,000 and delivering 30 cars in 2026, a $50,000 WellSpan Health’s Summit Endowment grant in summer 2025 helped fund eight vehicle donations for women in need.  

“Patients at WellSpan who face transportation barriers not only struggle to get to places like the grocery store, school and work, but also struggle to receive the medical care they need,” said Stephanie Voight, director of system community health. “As a result, patients without transportation tend to have fewer routine and preventive care visits and are more likely to experience chronic disease. In fact, patients without transportation are two times more likely to frequent the Emergency Department for care. WellSpan knows addressing transportation is a critical step in supporting the community and improving the health of our patients.”  

WellSpan’s support has been invaluable and instrumental in changing the lives of women in transition, according to Christine Achenbach Kimmel, Wheels for Women’s director of development. “On average, each woman has 2.2 children, and some have four to five children, but the recipients are helping their extended family members, so there’s a ripple effect,” she said. “We’re empowering change in the community. Transportation security raises the vision of what you can do and become.”   

Many recipients are recovering from addiction or experiencing serious health problems, domestic violence, the death or abandonment of a spouse, unexpected family tragedies or homelessness. Wheels for Women is helping them break the cycle of poverty, poor nutrition and healthcare, and homelessness by giving them an opportunity to get jobs, have an income, feed their children and drive themselves and their children to medical appointments, Achenbach Kimmel added.  

In the fall of 2025, Arizona Bales, of Chambersburg, was living in a Community Cares shelter while working at a nearby Dollar General as an assistant manager. After two months, the shelter helped her secure an apartment and she landed a new job. However, Bales would have to walk a long way and near a busy highway to get to work. The director of the shelter told her about Wheels for Women, provided referrals and encouraged her to apply. 

“I called twice to check on my application, then I was notified that I would be getting a car,” said Bales. “I cried because I never thought an apartment or car was in the books for me. I never thought it would be possible. It was so exciting.” 
 
A few days later, a representative from Wheels for Women drove her to the car dealership to fill out the paperwork and pick up the car. Bales is only responsible for the insurance and maintenance for her 2018 Ford Fusion — the car is fully paid off, so she has no car payments. 

Arizona Bales on the day she received her donated vehicle from Wheels for Women.    

“This has made it easier to go to my doctor and dentist appointments and to get to work or see my sister,” said Bales. “I think it’s a great program. Before I went to the shelter, I never knew programs like this existed. I’m glad they do because not everyone has the opportunity to get a car on their own.”       

Bales has overcome domestic violence, estrangement from her parents and homelessness in her past, but is positive and optimistic about her future. 

“I just want to stay secure and stable by maintaining financial independence through working,” she said. “I continue to go to therapy to heal from my past trauma. I want to build a safe and happy life.”           

Baumgardner also has future plans for Wheels for Women to become a national organization.  

“I will transition to this full-time, but in God’s timing, not on my timeline,” he said. “I trust in the Holy Spirit to open doors. This will be the rest of my life’s work.” 

Learn more about Wheels for Women at www.wheelforwomen.org. Learn more about how WellSpan Health is partnering with communities to improve health.