A Kelowna mom whose been through a lot had their day made on Tuesday, Oct. 1 as she was gifted a vehicle from Carstar and Mama for Mamas.

"We decided back in February that we were going to give away one of our old courtesy cars," said Jesse Clifford of Carstar Kelowna. "Decided to reach out to the community and try to find somebody that was in need of a car or somebody deserving of a car."

Carstar, which just opened on Leathead Road in January 2024, had an online contest/reach out, looking for someone deserving of a vehicle.

"This was an online contest Carstar was running and reached out to us for some nominations," said Sunney Weir of Mama for Mamas, a non-profit organization. "So our clinical team got together and they did put forth a few nominations and then Carstar did pick one of our mamas, which we're just so grateful for that."

"She was over the moon that she was chosen," added Mama for Mamas' Vanessa Tregarthen, who works for their social work department. "There were tears and screaming and lots of excitement."

The vehicle being gifted is a 2009 Dodge Caravan with over 200,000 kilometres on it. Carstar redid the van's suspension, gaskets, windshield, some engine work, an oil change, and cleaned the interior.

"It's basically like a brand new van again," said Clifford, who added they included gift cards and small presents as well.

"[It's] a very exciting day, one of our very deserving mama's is getting this beautiful van for her and her family," said Tregarthen. "We are so appreciative of Carstar and Jesse for offering this to her."

The non-profit organization said they couldn't give much information on the mother due to confidentiality reasons, however she is a single-mom of two kids whose has been accessing Mama for Mamas resources for a long time. She's had to overcome many barriers, including transportation. 

"It's life-changing for her," said Tregarthen. "It's emotional for us to see the generosity that has been provided for this family. We're so appreciative and this will change this family's life for a long time."

Since opening at the start of the year, Clifford knew right away he wanted to help the community.

"I think it's super important," said Clifford. "I've been involved in something like this before with a shop that I used to work for in Vernon and the outreach and buzz that it creates in the community is huge."

"I know the struggle, I've seen what certain cases of domestic abuse can do to people," Clifford added. "We want to be somebody that can help in the future. We see it as an opportunity to be involved in the community and get our name out there and we want to continue to do that."

After meeting with the media Tuesday morning, Clifford, Weir, and Tregarthen went and dropped off the van to the mother, who surprised her kids with it when going to pick them up from school.

"It's been tremendous, I think that it's such a testament to the power of partnerships," said Weir. "I think local businesses within the Okanagan supporting nonprofits... and different agencies working together to make something like this happen, it makes my day everyday and I think it's really, really special."

Usually helping with food or occasionally with rent, a van is the largest item Mama for Mamas has been able to offer.