First Posted: 11/4/2013

LUMBERTON — Two more finalists have a chance to win a free car in the United Way of Robeson County’s eighth annual car giveaway.

Yvette Bennet, of the Lumberton City Police Department, and Kyle Chavis, of the Lumbee Guaranty Bank, joined six other finalists when their names were drawn at Terry Chapin Nissan on Monday. They were randomly chosen by Terry Chapin from nearly 800 entries.

Representatives from five local car dealerships will pick two names every Tuesday until Dec. 17, when the 19th and 20th finalists are announced. The next drawing will be held Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at Peterson Toyota-Scion-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge on Fayetteville Road.

The drawing is part of United Way’s Fair Share program, which allows participants to donate one hour of their wages a month to United Way in exchange for a spot in the drawing.

On Jan. 16, one winner will be selected from all of the finalists in a reverse drawing at Biggs Park Mall. That winner will pick an envelope, selecting one of the following cars as their prize: a Chevrolet Spark from Lumberton Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac; a Nissan Versa from Terry Chapin Nissan; a Ford Fiesta from Fair Bluff Ford; a Honda Fit from Lumberton Honda; or a Toyota Yaris from Peterson Toyota-Scion-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. The winner will pay for taxes and tags on their new car.

“It’s a way to give back,” Chapin said. “I want a person I pick to win.”

Chapin bought the Roberts Avenue dealership last year and felt the cause was more than worth keeping up the previous owner’s tradition of participating.

The Robesonian newspaper has donated more than $10,000 in advertising space to support the event.

The six finalists whose names have already been drawn are: Deborah Council, Jessica Windom and Lori Vignali, all of whom work at BB&T; Gerline Gibson, who works at Wells Fargo in Lumberton; Johnnie Sweeney, a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at Fairgrove Middle School in Fairmont; and Michael Phillips, who works at Interational Paper in Lumberton.

For information about the Car Giveaway or the United Way of Robeson County or to fill out a pledge form, call 910-739-4249 or visit www.unitedwayrobeson.org. Those who make the donation can have still their names included in subsequent drawings.