12 Twin Cities moms receive free cars, loaded with holiday gifts: "This is Christmas!"

MINNEAPOLIS – The holiday spirit came to a Minneapolis automotive mechanic school Tuesday, when a dozen moms in need got free cars.

Destiny Hill from St. Paul was one of the 12 single, working mothers chosen through the Newgate School's Wheels for Women Program.

Hill received a Chevy Equinox, packed with wrapped presents for her three young sons.

"This is Christmas!" Hill said with a laugh.

Local dealerships donated the cars that are now giving the women a host of new opportunities.

"I'm gonna get [my son, Nikolai] into daycare," said Tatyana Krebsbach from Stillwater. "I'm gonna get another job that probably pays better, and we'll be able to succeed from here on out now. Only thing I needed really was a car."

Hill says she had been out of a car for more than a year.  

"This is gonna be able to help me get my kids in some sports," she said.

Tyla Pream is the coordinator of Wheels for Women. She went through more than 100 applications from families in need.

"To have them come here and see what they're getting, see the cars, see the gifts inside, there's really no way to describe it except that it is absolutely incredible," Pream said.

Wheels for Women gives a car to a single mother every month. The Newgate School relies on donations for that, as well as for training its students tuition-free.