PHOENIX — Christmas can be a stressful time of year for many families, especially for single mothers with one income who are raising children on their own.
The Valley non-profit JC Supercars hopes to provide these supermoms some relief.
The organization restores cars and gives them to single moms who are in need of transportation.
This Christmas, the organization has picked out several mothers who will be getting a new car as a gift.
The families are selected with the help of other agencies who work directly with single mothers in the Valley.
Jennifer Jensen and her three children were among the recipients.
Jensen and her family showed up at Titan Auto Body thinking they were just there to pick up some Christmas gifts that were donated for the children.
"This is life-changing. It has been a really hard year, especially being a single mom, but also trying to be a full-time student [during] the pandemic. I'm not working right now so this is really helping us a lot," said Jensen, still unaware of the surprise in store for her.
Organizers did give the children some Christmas presents, but then handed Jensen a box that appeared to have hair care products in it, along with a $100 gift card to a local grocery store.
Jensen was grateful for the gifts but was in disbelief after she opened up the big box to find a car key inside.
"What is this here?" she asked.
"Here at JC Supercars, we get donated cars. Titan Auto is one of our biggest donors. We get donated cars, we fix them up and give them out to awesome single moms who are in need," said Jake Rogers, Vice President of JC Supercars.
The organization started after Aaron Trudeau, the founder of JC Supercars, lost his brother and saw his sister-in-law raising her kids as a single mother.
"We started 12 years ago changing oil in the parking lot for single moms," said Trudeau.
Jensen was in disbelief and overwhelmed with her new set of wheels.
Organizers explained the old car she was currently driving was so old and broken down, she had barely coasted into their shop last week.
Her car had also been leaking fluids and her brakes were going out so it was unsafe to drive.
"I just love that people do that and I can't wait to get to the point where I get to do it back," said Jensen before taking off in her new set of wheels, calling this a Christmas her family will never forget.
Just as Jensen took off, Victoria Luquen, another single mother, arrived.
Luquen was also under the impression that she was picking up some gifts for her children.
"We are so blessed they are helping us, it can be tough as a single mom," said Luquen. She was also overwhelmed to learn she was getting a new car for Christmas.
Luquen suffers from an autoimmune disease and has to take trips to the doctor often. The car she currently drives has no door handles or heater. She has also had to postpone many treatments because of her transportation situation.
Luquen called the gift of a new car "a blessing."
"I feel very blessed that God's given me a new ride for the new year," she added.
Trudeau said the gift of wheels was not only something that would keep these families safe on the road.
He also hoped it would give these mothers a sense of empowerment as they cruised toward a brighter future for their families.
JC Supercars has been giving out one car per month with the help of their partner, Titan Auto Body.
Their goal is to eventually give out one car per week to a single mother in need.
If you would like to help them out with their mission,click here.
