Over $8,700 raised for Sunnyside student battling cancer

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Fresno community came together to raise money for a Sunnyside high school student battling cancer. Gabriel Garcia Jr. was diagnosed with cancer in 2024, but he says he’s ready for the fight.

“It makes me feel really good knowing I got a bunch of people who care and, like, love me, you know?”

Hundreds of people made their way to the Sunnyside High School parking lot for a car wash, free haircuts, and delicious food options. It’s part of a fundraising effort for Gabriel.

“My friends go above and beyond for me, and I love them for it. Like my friend, the barber, he had randomly just texted me, ‘Can we come out?’”

That friend is Hector Arenas, a barber who also went to Sunnyside.

“Even his parents. They ended up coming to our shop just one random night, and we kind of put the pieces together and realized who Gabriel was. But we’re trying to get him better, you know, want to get him treated. I believe in miracles,” West Coast Inc Barbershop’s Hector Arenas said.

Through prayer, folks like James Valandria are also helping Gabriel and his family.

“Gabriel attends a church of one of our members, and so we ran into them through them. When we found out again that he was sick again, we went and prayed for him and one of his appointments that he had,” Warriors of Faith Vice President James Velandria said.

Gabriel’s impact on his school and alumni show. His wrestling coach helped organize the event.

“His mom, Crystal, came to me in simple text, like, ‘Hey, can we try to do a carwash?’ Because I know funds are really tight,” Sunnyside High School Wrestling Coach Brian Payne said.

Coach Payne says he has more treatments ahead that are costly.

“He’s going to be taking a lot of trips out to San Francisco, going to try a new chemo that we are praying and hoping that works, because to this point, everything has kind of not worked,” Payne said.

Gabriel has a tough fight ahead, but it’s a fight he won’t take on alone.

“I’m a cancer survivor myself, so I kind of know how it feels to go through cancer. And you can have a lot of times where you feel alone. And I think that this is something that’s really going to uplift his spirit,” Gabriel’s mom Crystal Martinez said.

Martinez said her spirits are uplifted seeing the support for her son. 

“I know everybody that knows Gabriel always says that he’s a light, but this is a true reflection of that,” Martinez said.

And today, Gabriel was all smiles.

“There’s been times where it has been so hard on him with the chemo, the radiation, but yeah, he shows up and you just he doesn’t seem like he has cancer at all because he’s just always 100% positive,” Payne said.

“I got faith that it’s going to all work out and it’s going to go away,” Gabriel said.

More than $8,700 was raised at this fundraiser. If you couldn’t make it out to this outdoor fundraiser, you can still help Gabriel and his family through their GoFundMe account.