Meet the Butlers. They are a crazy fun loving family from San Antonio, TX. When they are not working on their food trailer, “The Branded Cow”, they can be found supporting their kids on the soccer field in the swimming pool, or helping out disadvantaged kids in their community at Sleep in Heavenly Peace (a non-profit that builds and delivers beds to kids in need).
The past two months this family has been hit hard with some really difficult challenges and trials. They discovered some flaws in the construction of the food trailer. These flaws led to a two-week shut down and several thousand dollars of repairs and lost income. The trailer is the family’s main source of income, so a two-week shutdown really hurt. Just as they thought things were getting back on track they started having electrical issues with the trailer and lost the A/C. If you know anything about Texas summers, you know they are HOT! No A/C in a trailer with grills and fryers going is not an option. More events had to be cancelled as they continued to look for solutions to the electrical issues.
In the middle of this their family vehicle was involved in an accident and totaled. Thankfully everyone was okay, but they had to replace the vehicle which was not in the budget. They got through that challenge only to have a tire blow out on the food trailer. These are not ordinary tires. They support a trailer that weighs 16,000lbs and are not cheap to replace.
As if these challenges were not enough of a hit, this past Sunday night the truck they use to haul the food trailer to events caught fire in the middle of the night and was a complete loss. Fortunately, a neighbor who had stayed up late saw the flames and called to wake them up in time to prevent the fire from spreading to the garage. Not only did they lose the truck but they lost both generators to run the trailer, all of the electrical cords and the computer which has all of the trailers menu’s, location history, inventory, etc on it. There was substantial damage done to the garage doors and to some of the cars that were parked around the truck.
On Monday they went to the trailer to do some prep and change out a few items only to find there had been a power outage at the commissary kitchen where the trailer is stored and they lost ALL of the food in the fridge and freezer. They have not been able to replace the truck but a kind friend has loaned them his truck for the week so they can keep working and not cancel more events losing more income.
Believe it or not this is only a small handful of the challenges their family has faced this summer. They are not ones to complain or ask for help. They would never put this out there or ask on their own. They are trying to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and keep moving forward. This is a family who continually gives to those around them and in their community. We want to give back to them some of the kindness and support that they have shown to so many. Can you help us help them? Any and all donations are deeply appreciated.
