STRASBURG, Colo. — When 16-year-old Daniel Alvarado’s brother, Diego, was diagnosed with leukemia 10 years ago, he started a GoFundMe page to raise money for toys to help Diego feel better.
Now, that crowdfunding effort has expanded to help other kids with cancer, and has gained national attention for Daniel.
“Some of my favorite memories with Diego are when we would go downstairs in the house and press every button on every toy that made a noise just to annoy my mom and laugh,” Daniel wrote on his GoFundMe page. “Those toys brought us so many smiles, even during the tough times, and I want to bring even more smiles to children’s faces.”
Diego died in 2016.
“The most important part of all this is that I’m able to keep honoring my brother Diego, who is my hero and always will be,” Daniel wrote.
In 2009, Daniel was able to donate about 200 toys during the holidays to children with cancer. Last year, he raised enough money to donate 3,500 toys. And this year, he wants to donate even more — to kids at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Daniel’s hard and generous work has not gone unnoticed.
GoFundMe recently named him one of five “Community-Nominated Heroes.”
Daniel and the others will get to share their stories of helping others in San Francisco on November 14, 2019. You can watch the ceremony here.