Kale Waddleton grew up having a passion for classic cars. Both his granddaddy and dad were big into cars and doing car shows. 

But, as the third generation classic car lover, Waddleton decided to use his passion to help others in the local community. 

He organizes car shows specifically to help raise funds for families trying to care for medically fragile children. Waddleton’s vision began forming approximately two and a half years ago. 

“I walked into Bench Warmers and saw this family having a bike ride to help raise money,” Waddleton recalled. “So, I went back to the family and said, ‘I want to do something.’ Two weeks later, we did a car show and raised $21,000. After that, I was like, ‘hey, we’re on to something.’”

Waddleton was correct — he was on to something. 

From that moment, Waddleton and his wife, Marissa organized a nonprofit called Kaleb’s Cause. This was to help carry out his vision in assisting local people as best as he could. 

The reason this cause was so dear to Waddleton was because he experienced the support from the Newton County community firsthand a few years back. 

Waddleton’s then-six-month-old son, Kaleb, was in need of a heart transplant after being born with a medical condition known as Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy. 

Once the news became public, community members created a Facebook page, a GoFundMe and even hosted a benefit to raise money for Waddleton’s family. 

In total, $40,000 was raised not including any food, gift baskets and other non-monetary donations were made to the cause. 

Thanks to the support of the Newton County community, Kaleb underwent his heart transplant and made a full recovery. The help didn’t go unnoticed by Waddleton. 

“This town rallied together for us,” Waddleton said. 

Since “Kaleb’s Cause” inception, Waddleton has done numerous other car show benefits. To date, the organization has raised a total that eclipses $200,000. 

Recently, Waddleton organized a benefit called “Back the Blue” for Covington’s Police Chief Stacey Cotton after he suffered a stroke. All proceeds went to the Police Who Care Fund. 

So, Waddleton is all in on doing what he can to help people in the local community, because of the generous support they offered when his family needed it. 

It’s the quality of people in Covington that makes this place special for Waddleton. 

“I love the people here,” Waddleton said. “It’s a beautiful place full of good people. You walk in somewhere and everyone knows everybody. I love to go sit at Amici’s and 10 people walk by your table you haven’t seen in a while. We’re all friends and everyone supports anything you want to do.”