Oklahoma Car Dealership And Local Nonprofit, Team Up For Cancer Patient Surprise

A local car dealership and a nonprofit created to help Oklahomans fighting cancer teamed up to give an Oklahoma cancer patient a new car.

Life is full of surprises, but few surprises are as big as a new car.  

“Being told you have cancer is probably the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” said twenty-year-old Saphirah Hoffman, who is battling brain cancer. 

The diagnosis, however, hasn’t stopped her from working, going to class at UCO, attending church or going to her doctor’s appointments, all without a car. 

“If there was a doctor appointment, I would just ride my bike there, it was a very long ride, but I would just ride there and by the time I got there I was exhausted,” said Hoffman.  

Whether she rides her bike or walks, it typically takes hours to reach her destination. 

“There are people out there that are fighting cancer, who are also worried about additional life stressors,” said Tarah Warren, founder of Tenaciously Teal. 

Tenaciously Teal is a local nonprofit created to help Oklahomans that are fighting cancer, and when they heard about Hoffman, they immediately went to work for a solution.    

“Initially when we contacted Cavender they thought that they could get her a really nice certified used car, so we were really excited about that,” said Warren.  

“We reached out to our partner Subaru, we told them what we had in mind, and they said what about a new vehicle?” said Stephen Cavender, of Cavender Subaru.  

Unaware of everything going on behind the scenes, Hoffman showed just hoping for any vehicle. 

“To get like a little A to B car, just something that was reliable enough to go from home to church to doctor, maybe something that would break down in six months,” said Hoffman.  

Then the surprise she never expected, a brand new, fully equipped Subaru Impreza, presented to Hoffman.  

“She deserves a special day because not all of her days have been special lately,” said Cavender.  

“I also didn’t sleep at all last night because I was just praying that we would find something,” said Hoffman. 

The dealership was filled with smiles and tears of joy for a deserving lady. Cavender Subaru is located in Norman. For information about Tenaciously Teal visit their website www.tteal.org.