AUSTIN, Texas — For months, Naree Dilworth and her daughter, Nalia Boudray, have relied on using rideshare apps and walking everywhere they had to go, including getting Boudray to school in Cedar Park.
The mother and daughter lived too close to qualify for Leander ISD to offer transportation services and didn’t have the means to repair their broken car. However, in February, when Dilworth and Boudray shared their constant struggle, it caught the attention of Cedar Park Mayor, Jim Penniman-Morin.
“I really wanted to find a way to help Dilworth and the whole Dilworth family, in part because I felt like it’s something Cedar Park owes our residents,” said Penniman-Morin.
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Penniman-Morin said he got in touch with Toyota of Cedar Park an, with the help of the family’s already established GoFundMe, Dilworth was able to choose the car of her liking on Wednesday.
“[Dilworth] was really, really impressed that she had, you know, so many people that wanted to help her,” Dilworth said in sign language, translated by Boudray. “And just by like a news video, you know, we didn’t really think it would it could go that far.”
Boudray herself added that she was stunned the community — and the city’s mayor — responded so warmly to their cause.
Penniman-Morin noted he was aware of the lack of public transit in Cedar Park and pointed to the city’s Master Mobility Plan adopted in 2023, which would create alternative options.
After hearing Dilworth and Boudray’s story, the mayor said the city will sort through additional details within next year’s budget to see where it can add for families who need it most.
“Transportation is something everybody needs and people in so many different situations in life and you need different transportation options for all those different situations,” said Penniman-Morin.
