A hard-working single mom who had been taking three buses to work and four home because her car had broken down for months burst into tears when her family surprised her with a much-needed vehicle.
Sonya Rivers, 57, from Chicago, Illinois, was so desperate for a car to get to her job at Amazon that she wrote statuses on social media, asking friends and family if she could pay monthly to use anyone’s vehicle.
On one social media post, where a family member had received a car, Sonya wrote her congratulations, adding, “pray that I’m next.”
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The 57-year-old’s previous vehicle broke down in April 2024, but the cost of the repairs was more than the car itself.
Over the following months, Sonya was required to navigate multiple buses to get to and from work.
Those days were tough for Sonya’s daughter, Kiera [Key-air-a] Anderson, 33, to experience, and with the colder and darker months approaching, Kiera and her family did not want her mom to have to take multiple buses anymore.
Kiera, her husband Anthony, and her brother Gentral decided they would make financial sacrifices to solve Sonya’s desperate need for a car.
The couple put on hold their plans to save for a house. Anthony traveled around Chicagoland after work to look for vehicles, and Gentral started working seven days a week, Kiera said.
Gentral had flown in from Texas, and as a cover for the surprise, Anthony asked his mother-in-law if she would help him look at a venue for his and Kiera’s tenth wedding anniversary celebrations.
Instead, Sonya pulled into a library parking area where a Chevrolet Malibu was waiting with a big blue bow, her favorite color.
The moment took Sonya entirely by surprise, with the gesture – and not expecting to see her son and granddaughter – bringing her to tears of joy.
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Kiera captured the surprise in a video before sharing it with her followers on social media.
She said: “My mom had a car that broke down back in April of 2024, and the cost to repair was more than the value of the vehicle.
“Since April, she has been taking three buses to get to work at Amazon, and four buses back.
“As the cold seasons approach, it gets colder and darker, quicker, and we didn’t want our mom on the buses.
“She wrote statuses on Facebook, asking if anyone had a car to give where she could pay them monthly.
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“She also wrote, ‘Congratulations, I pray that I’m next,’ on my cousin’s status, who also recently received a car.
“Our tenth wedding anniversary was the following weekend, so she thought they would be looking at a party venue to celebrate that.
“Instead, he pulled into a library parking lot, where her car was waiting with a big blue bow (her favorite color), along with me, my children, my brothers, and my niece.
“This was an even bigger surprise because my brother lives in Texas, and she didn’t expect to see them [her] granddaughter.
“Words truly cannot express how blessed I feel.
“I think that moment blessed me more than it did her.”
