OREM — With tears welling in her eyes, Rebecca Rowley opened the car door, slipped behind the wheel and covered her face with shaking hands.

"Wow. I can't believe it," she said, fumbling for words. "Oh, wow. Oh, my gosh. Oh, wow. I can't believe it."

Rowley, a single mother of two boys who tends children in her Provo home to pay the bills, was living her Christmas dream — she had just been handed the keys to a sleek 2002 Ford Taurus SE.

The silver four-door sedan was presented Tuesday by Dave Adams Classic Auto, an Orem collision- repair shop that for 12 years has given a refurbished car to a single mother struggling to make ends meet while also attending college.

The car giveaway was part of a give-back-at-Christmas campaign founded in part by Utah Valley businessman Dave Adams, who owned the shop until a few months ago.

Each December, as part of the program, body-shop owners across the country give rebuilt, repainted, polished-up cars to needy families.

This year, the new owners of the shop at 899 N. Industrial Park Drive, continued the local tradition.

"To be able to give a gift like this to someone who is so deserving — it's what Christmas is all about," said Joe Harding, co-owner of the Orem shop.

The spit-shined Ford — which has rolled about 80,000 miles and has only been owned once before — is "the nicest car I've ever had," says Rowley, who in recent times has been unable to afford a car.

Rowley ran errands by hopping on a bus or her bike.

Bus route schedules can be put in the drawer. And no more bicycle trips to the store.

"I have a bike with a basket in the back," she said. "It takes a million trips to get everything I need."

So how did Rowley get so lucky?

She was in the right place at the right time.

Ten days ago, Rowley decided she had put off her dream of becoming an elementary school teacher for too long.

Twenty years had passed since she stopped attending college after she married. Although intimidated by the prospect of returning to college, Rowley, who is shy by nature, went to UVSC's Orem campus to start the registration process.

"We went from window to window to window," said Pam Mayes, Rowley's therapist who tagged along for support. "The last place we went was the women's resource center," Mayes said.

Soon, Rowley was face-to-face with a counselor, telling her why she wanted to return to school in January.

Neither could believe their good fortunes.

Mayes said: "She (the counselor) looked at her and said, 'You don't have a car? I've been looking for somebody who doesn't have a car.' "

UVSC needed to find a potential recipient by 5 p.m. that day so the shop could prepare the car by Christmas.

Deadline met.

They found whom they were looking for — even if they'd never met her before.

Brian Schofield, general manager of the shop, said the car was licensed and registered in Rowley's name. Farmers Insurance Group has donated a year of car insurance, and an anonymous donor filled the car's gas tank.

Friends also have opened a donation account in Rowley's name at Wells Fargo to help her pay for college.

"Being in the news is nerve-wracking," said her 16-year-old son, Jason Kaiser. "But having this car is worth it."

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E-mail: jeffh@desnews.com