--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Someone Gave Him a Chance. Now He's Paying it Forward. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta52e7602710dff8e/6a3410229e18a82eaab8892f/james-image.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Someone Gave Him a Chance. Now He's Paying it Forward. Jim Lake is the kind of person who insists on establishing equal opportunities for others, everywhere he goes. Sioux Falls is a socioeconomically diverse area, so Lake takes note of–and acts on–any inequalities he sees. His dealership gives back 10% or more of everything it makes, but it also gets involved and helps out anywhere resources are needed in the community. For one, he noticed that many kids in his area could not afford to play recreational sports like soccer–either because they didn’t have a car to get to the games or they didn’t have the financial means to buy uniforms or equipment. That’s why every year Lake’s dealership sponsors a local soccer league. But he wasn’t always as community-driven as he is now, and Lake says he was one bad mistake away from leading a very different life. When he was 26, he was lucky enough to work under Vern Eide, who became his personal mentor in the car industry. “From day one, Vern Eide took a chance on me,” he said. “He believed in me and provided an opportunity that I never could have imagined.” Right before Eide passed away, Lake witnessed him gather all his grandchildren and instructed them to go forth and redistribute the wealth they were lucky enough to be blessed with. When Lake eventually bought the dealership, he maintained Eide’s values every step of the way. “He always put his people first,” said Lake. One of Jim Lake's standout initiatives is the Vern Eide Gives Back program, which allows his employees to decide where donations are distributed. And, to encourage greater giving, he will match a customer’s donation up to $1,000\. Lake cares so much about his employees that he even sold two of his stores to employees, hoping to give them the same kind of opportunity that Eide gave him all those years ago. As an employee-owner of the dealership, Lake hopes to empower the next generation of leaders through community service and career development programs. Some of the organizations that Lake has supported include Children’s Inn (a program of Children’s Home Society to help victims of domestic violence and abuse); Union Gospel Mission Sioux Falls; Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire; Dress for Success Sioux Falls; and Operation Christmas, to name a few. The charitable ethos of his company is so strong that employees’ kids grow up and want to work in the organization, too, because they’re already part of the family and mission. “We do deliver dreams not only for our employees, or our customers, but we believe that it's our responsibility to deliver them for our community also.” One of those members of the next generation was Lake’s son, Justin. They worked together for 20 years before Justin died unexpectedly. There are few tragedies as painful as losing a child. But where other people might have given up, the loss only made Lake double down on his commitment to leaving the world a better place. Together with his family, Lake launched an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which fulfilled his son’s wish of giving the company back to their employees. “My wife asked me one time, right after Justin passed away, ‘Why are you doing this? Do you really need another buck?’ I said, ‘I'm going to change the world, and I want to create as many leaders as I can before I retire.’” Given all he’s done to give back, it is no surprise that Lake was a past nominee for the prestigious TIME Dealer of the Year award. Each year, Ally Financial, the National Automobile Dealers Association and TIME honor a select group of dealers from across the country who have made exceptional contributions to their communities. It’s one of the highest honors any car dealer can receive. As the exclusive sponsor, Ally has been able to pour nearly $875,000 of grant money into 501c3 charitable organizations selected by the finalists.Through these efforts, dozens of dealers like Lake have been able to support and strengthen their local community. For Lake, it’s not about the money or praise. All he wants in return for his generosity is a legacy of leaving the world better than he found it, a world that is punctuated by the next generation of leaders who can multiply that good work. “People always ask me, ‘what do you want your legacy to be?’ And my legacy is pretty easy: I just want to leave it better than I found it.” He already has. [Click here](https://jadserve.postrelease.com/trk?ntv%5Fat=4&ntv%5Fui=bd1b606c-e6df-4989-8fe0-5ab289ea4c93&ntv%5Fa=s-cIAp%5FVkAShcRA&ntv%5Ffl=H8%5FNIX%5FfVs0Ik5QLWe2EYM-LJPLnKfJTArj0G1FNPdJhFLXB-KyBZJSHG4CkjtHELu7mon8diq1o-zpup1h7Nja4f7MmOeRTmVuUEz5w-CJS-P-zn1T39y3QRmlipeDHJqnY5htSYmsUm4hIe1DojIh-ecnQJ8lgKqAvjtXg%5FjwegA8ikaMFalagpxXlsjo7JGuxWxGCfRakC4KkKmnsdhRWtaHYP%5FvpItiMJrILjeZnmKQLashmbSZrAi%5FKgnPo7rTF%5FmnA97jA9JszCHMNKAPRzVwT8UzRdS7r5EyrzhTxFn3yxj9Y5rXx8wkSHchVXc6zzIQD-NE8IT9-2hx1ovRXgLMRwQFuV-naev555cTVjGr-%5FTV8lxWnIvHM3MyU-jrECmwVw5iZN1eopf7RF%5F7l1Bz6Gipg8pvNs1OU6pG5StmYKnXOJiuxeMC33FKGT%5FoNBcaK2PwWEeMgjmkmsWM2CntdT00SXrZDiLPGj0HLmNnP-UCGP8fgqAer5EW7knUZur7L3nB7ARolEBQEhRau%5FTRC03HLfLQ%5FJgmLEiI=&ord=-1970617325&ntv%5Fht=hWoHagA&prx%5Fr=http://share.ntv.io/sponsored/fueling-their-communities/?ntv%5Fa=5LEIA0LdiAW-IPA "undefined") to learn more about other car dealers who are making an impact in their community. [](https://jadserve.postrelease.com/trk?ntv%5Fat=4&ntv%5Fui=bd1b606c-e6df-4989-8fe0-5ab289ea4c93&ntv%5Fa=s-cIAp%5FVkAShcRA&ntv%5Ffl=H8%5FNIX%5FfVs0Ik5QLWe2EYM-LJPLnKfJTArj0G1FNPdJhFLXB-KyBZJSHG4CkjtHELu7mon8diq1o-zpup1h7Nja4f7MmOeRTmVuUEz5w-CJS-P-zn1T39y3QRmlipeDHJqnY5htSYmsUm4hIe1DojIh-ecnQJ8lgKqAvjtXg%5FjwegA8ikaMFalagpxXlsjo7JGuxWxGCfRakC4KkKmnsdhRWtaHYP%5FvpItiMJrILjeZnmKQLashmbSZrAi%5FKgnPo7rTF%5FmnA97jA9JszCHMNKAPRzVwT8UzRdS7r5EyrzhTxFn3yxj9Y5rXx8wkSHchVXc6zzIQD-NE8IT9-2hx1ovRXgLMRwQFuV-naev555cTVjGr-%5FTV8lxWnIvHM3MyU-jrECmwVw5iZN1eopf7RF%5F7l1Bz6Gipg8pvNs1OU6pG5StmYKnXOJiuxeMC33FKGT%5FoNBcaK2PwWEeMgjmkmsWM2CntdT00SXrZDiLPGj0HLmNnP-UCGP8fgqAer5EW7knUZur7L3nB7ARolEBQEhRau%5FTRC03HLfLQ%5FJgmLEiI=&ord=-780717109&ntv%5Fht=AHEJagA) Learn more about TIME Dealer of the Year, an annual award for exceptional performance and outstanding community service presented by Ally, NADA and TIME. [Find Out More](https://jadserve.postrelease.com/trk?ntv%5Fat=4&ntv%5Fui=bd1b606c-e6df-4989-8fe0-5ab289ea4c93&ntv%5Fa=s-cIAp%5FVkAShcRA&ntv%5Ffl=H8%5FNIX%5FfVs0Ik5QLWe2EYM-LJPLnKfJTArj0G1FNPdJhFLXB-KyBZJSHG4CkjtHELu7mon8diq1o-zpup1h7Nja4f7MmOeRTmVuUEz5w-CJS-P-zn1T39y3QRmlipeDHJqnY5htSYmsUm4hIe1DojIh-ecnQJ8lgKqAvjtXg%5FjwegA8ikaMFalagpxXlsjo7JGuxWxGCfRakC4KkKmnsdhRWtaHYP%5FvpItiMJrILjeZnmKQLashmbSZrAi%5FKgnPo7rTF%5FmnA97jA9JszCHMNKAPRzVwT8UzRdS7r5EyrzhTxFn3yxj9Y5rXx8wkSHchVXc6zzIQD-NE8IT9-2hx1ovRXgLMRwQFuV-naev555cTVjGr-%5FTV8lxWnIvHM3MyU-jrECmwVw5iZN1eopf7RF%5F7l1Bz6Gipg8pvNs1OU6pG5StmYKnXOJiuxeMC33FKGT%5FoNBcaK2PwWEeMgjmkmsWM2CntdT00SXrZDiLPGj0HLmNnP-UCGP8fgqAer5EW7knUZur7L3nB7ARolEBQEhRau%5FTRC03HLfLQ%5FJgmLEiI=&ord=-780717109&ntv%5Fht=AHEJagA) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/someone-gave-him-a-chance.-now-hes-paying-it-forward./","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/ally-financial/someone-gave-him-a-chance.-now-hes-paying-it-forward./"},"headline":"Someone Gave Him a Chance. 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