Car Giveaway Finalists Named By Homewood Dealership

HOMEWOOD, IL — Six finalists have been chosen by a Homewood dealership looking to give away a new car to a deserving family. The finalists were selected by the staff at Chevrolet of Homewood and the Village of Homewood from more than 420 entries looking to win a new Chevy Sonic.

In order to qualify for the contest, participants needed to write an essay of 200 words or less explaining why a new car would change that person's life. Individuals could enter themselves in the contest or someone else.

The six finalists now will make a two- to three-minute video telling their stories, and those videos will be posted online at the Homewood Chevy Cares website. Employees from the dealership and village then will vote for a winner, who will be contacted by Dec. 22. The new car will be presented to the lucky individual at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 24 — Christmas Eve morning — at the dealership, 18033 Halsted St.

The finalists include:

• Selena
• Gregory S
• Courtney S
• Rosaland Y
• Jean Johnson
• Felipe Lara

The essasys of the finalists — as well as all the submitted essays — can be read at the dealership's website. The finalists' videos also will be posted to the website.

RELATED: Deserving Family Can Win New Car From Homewood Dealership

This is the third year the dealership has held its car giveaway. In a video for this year's giveaway, Steve Phillipos, the car dealership's president, said the business continues to hold the contest as a way to give deserving people a break in their lives. A car, he added, is something many take for granted. This year, Chicago activist and Majostee Allstars found Ja'Mal Green helped spread word about the event.

Tina Lonkar, the dealership's internet sales manager, said this year's contest entries increased over 2016. This year also saw more submissions from people nominating other people instead of themselves, she added.

2017 Chevrolet Sonic (Photo via Chevrolet)