DUBLIN, Ga. — The Dublin community is coming together to help a grandmother get a new car. The 69-year-old woman takes care of kids who she calls her own.
Ruthie Mitchell says they depend on her to get around safely, but with the car needing repairs and breaking down, her neighbors are stepping up.
"I wake up about four, four something," Mitchell said.
She gets the four kids she calls her grandchildren up and ready.
"Take them to the bathroom, help them wash their face, and get them ready for school," Mitchell said.
At 69-years-old Mitchell says she has helped raise 13 kids. It's a job that keeps her on the move.
"I take them right up to the bus stop, right up the road," Mitchell said.
One morning when Mitchell dropped off her kids, a neighbor noticed something wasn't right.
"I saw her in the car fanning the babies with a church fan, I knew the air conditioning was not working, and it was 100 degrees outside," 14-year-old Conner Childers said.
Mitchell says the car makes it tough to get to church and run errands.
"I went to get my washing detergent, and it runs hot just as I crossed the (Dublin) bypass, and I stopped on the side of the road," Mitchell said.
That's why her neighbor is stepping up. The goal is to get Grandma Mitchell a new set of wheels.
"I would love to see enough money raised to buy a reliable vehicle big enough to take all of the children," Childers said.
Childers decided to start a gofundme page for Mitchell.
"Something just compelled me to help, and I really do not know what it was," Childers said.
Mitchell says regardless of her car situation, she will always make sure her babies are taken care of.
"Long as I got something for them to eat, and they play. That is what matters," Mitchell said.