Swansea Coffee Shop Steps Up to Help Young Tee-Ball Player Battling Cancer

Cullen Cook is a three-year-old boy from Swansea who couldn’t wait to play ball. His cleats were bought, his baseball glove was broken in, and he was excited to begin his baseball career on his tee-ball team, part of Swansea Little League.

If you’ve ever played baseball, you know the feeling: the anticipation of Opening Day. There’s a special kind of excitement that builds in your stomach as each day brings you closer to game time.

Devastating Diagnosis Ends Tee-Ball Season

Cullen’s team is made up of the littlest kids in the league. These are children who should never have to worry about words like "cancer," "leukemia" or "diagnosis." Unfortunately, that’s not the case for Cullen. His family recently received heartbreaking news: Cullen has been diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

They had to make the difficult call to his coach to explain that Cullen wouldn’t be playing tee-ball this spring.

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Aroma Joe’s and Swansea Rally to Support Cullen

When Swansea Little League learned about Cullen’s battle, the league leadership immediately reached out to Aroma Joe’s. The league knew the local coffee shop would help; they had stepped up to support one of their players in the past.

READ MORE: Aroma Joe's Helps Stark Family From Swansea

Aroma Joe’s owner Jon Realejo said his shop is organizing a fundraiser on Saturday, April 19 at the Swansea location at 755 GAR Highway. For every beverage sold that day, Aroma Joe’s will donate $1 to Cullen’s family to help with the cost of his treatment, hospital travel and his parents' time off work.

“These fundraising days are some of the most rewarding days we have as an organization,” Realejo said. “Unfortunately, there have been a few instances of sick children in Swansea. Every time we find out, we try to do our part to help. It’s incredible to see how amazing this town is. The community support is overwhelming.”