By Kath Gannaway
It’s the little white van that rocked ‘n’ rolled and just kept on going.
Now, Healesville musician Jeff Jenkins’ beloved 1992 Toyota Townace is about to rock someone else’s world through the Kids Under Cover Donate Your Car program.
Jeff waved goodbye to the van earlier this month after learning of the program that aims to prevent youth homelessness through early intervention and practical help for families.
Jeff has been a mainstay of the local music scene for an unspecified few years as part of the now retired Dukes of Despair and his Bob Dylan tribute show ‘DYLANesque’.
The popularity of DYLANesque, including touring to gigs around Victoria and interstate, meant an inevitable upgrade.
It’s fair to say the band, Jeff, Kim Farrell, Jim Moody, Mick Wenhuda and Andy King, now travel in comfort.
Nonetheless, there was more than a hint of sweet-sorrow as Jeff removed the number plates and handed the keys over to Kids Under Cover’s Sandra Olsen on 12 April.
The van has had more lives than a cat, according to Jeff who reminisced that it had become as much an identity as the bands themselves with locals often waving and tooting as it headed out of Healesville to another gig.
It originally belonged to Jeff’s parents who used it to take their proteas to market.
Its new gig with Dukes and DYLANesque must have been a bit of a culture shock going from flower power to rock, rhythm and blues.
“There was always a fight to get in the front passenger seat because it’s really not very big, particularly once we got all our instruments and other gear in,” Jeff said.
The van served the Jenkins family well in other ways, too.
“It’s seen a lot in its life from flower markets to band gigs, picking up my daughter and her friends from parties late at night, helping her move house and most recently taking the dogs down to the local dam for a run and a swim,” Jeff said.
Ms Olsen said the car donation project had really taken off and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organisation.
“It’s just fantastic that Jeff, and others like him, think of us, and of how they can help in this practical way to make a difference to homelessness,” she said.
Kids Under Cover CEO, Jo Swift, also expressed her gratitude to Jeff for his support.
“Donations like this will assist us in providing physical support, including building re-locatable studios for young people to live in while staying close to family and support networks, giving them the valuable space they need,” she said.
She said the cars were auctioned with proceeds going to help at-risk young people stay connected to home and education.
“We know it works,” Ms Swift said.
She said independent evaluations showed that from an economic point of view every dollar invested in a KUC studio saved an average of $3.30 in the form of reduced health and justice costs, and flow-on economic benefits.
“Most importantly, a young person is no longer at risk of becoming homeless, and is living in secure and stable accommodation.”
Jeff said after they discovered the program it was so obvious.
“It’s a win/win for everyone,” he said.
“A van which has served us so well gets to go off to a new owner and the auction money goes to help Kids Under Cover and the great work they do with youth homelessness.”
For more information on Kids Under Cover and the Donate Your Car program visit www.kuc.org.au or phone 9429 7444.
