Christian coffee company to donate 100 cars to struggling single moms in need
A Christian-owned pro-life coffee company in South Florida has launched an initiative to use profits to gift 100 cars to struggling single mothers in need and has already assisted the mother of a severely autistic teen.
Burly Man Coffee, a Stuart-based subscription coffee service launched last December, gifted in March a four-door Kia sedan to Celeste Bokstrom, the mother and full-time caretaker of her 16-year-old non-verbal autistic son, Logan.
Bokstrom and Logan live in a makeshift apartment inside a single-car garage in Lake Worth. The mother is forced to use a hotplate as a stove and hasn't owned a vehicle for the past four years.
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“You do what you got to do when you are a mom,” Bokstrom said in a video produced by the coffee company. “It is a battle. It is all about keeping him happy. If he is happy. We are all happy. Generally, he is a happy child.”
Bokstrom said she once saved up $2,000 to purchase a car for her family. But when she went to register the car with the state, she was informed that it was a stolen car and she could not keep it.
Having taken her so long to save up the money, she said she was devastated to have “lost it all in a moment.”
But Bokstrom and her son were provided with a “hand-up” after Burly Man Coffee owners, Jeremy and Tiana Wiles, heard about the family’s struggles.
“I think that God looks down and He sees you stuck,” Jeremy Wiles told Bokstrom. “He doesn’t want you to be stuck. We thought we would do something to keep you moving forward.”
In addition to a new car, Bokstrom and her son were gifted with an iPad, a tool that will help him communicate and provide comfort when he is upset. The company also gifted other resources that will help with Logan’s caretaking.
The mother was also treated to a shopping spree, a surprise party with her friends and a salon makeover.
“To me, this is a lot more than gifts,” she said in the video. “This is making my life and my son’s life better in every way.”
The Wiles also connected Bokstrom with Michael Cohen, the director of Center for Brain in Jupiter, Florida, an institution that has helped treat thousands of severely autistic children.
Cohen is a leading expert in the field of neurofeedback and has agreed to treat Logan for free.
Neurofeedback is a therapy that helps patients stabilize their emotions and rewire their brain. The therapy has even helped patients to speak.
“I had no idea this was going to happen to me,” Bokstrom said in a statement. “I had faith and believed that God knew my struggles, but I never expected this. Receiving a car has changed my world. And Logan is now getting the help he deserves. I’m so grateful. Burly Man Coffee has changed our lives for the better.”
A news release explains that Burly Man Coffee’s goal is to donate 100 cars to single mothers as a way to fight the “dangerous agenda to shame American men with a message on ‘toxic masculinity.’”
“There are single moms barely staying afloat because some men have abandoned ship. Burly Man Coffee has stepped up to fill in the gap and provide relief by meeting their most critical needs,” Tiana Wiles said. “This is an opportunity to demonstrate what real men do: they take care of those in need. If we can change the life of a mother and her child for the better, then we are doing something right.”
Jeremy Wiles assured that not all men are “barbaric, sexist, misogynistic, racist monsters.”
“We associated the term being ‘Burly’ with being a man who is brave, kind, generous, and patriotic. Our brand represents every hard-working American whose virtues have more value than the toxic agenda being shoved in their faces,” Wiles stressed.
“The fast-growing number of people joining the coffee club is a clear indicator that people appreciate great coffee and want to partner with a company that uses their hard-earned dollars to represent their values.”
On the company’s website, Wiles wrote that Burly Man Coffee hopes to play a small part in not only strengthening the country but also “restoring some of the values and principles that have been lost.”
“As a Christian, I think we should have products and businesses we can use that support the values we believe in,” Jeremy Wiles wrote.
The company also assures that it is “pro-life.” While coffee giant Starbucks financially supports the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, Wiles condemned companies that pour “millions of dollars into movements that do not protect life, faith, and values.”
“We’re putting our money where our mouth is, so that good folks can put their mouth where their values are,” Wiles explained. “We support struggling single moms and families with every purchase. Through our charitable program, we are able to help struggling mothers get back on their feet by providing food, clothing, vehicles, assistance with mounting bills, medical care, and sustainable financial planning.”
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