Dear family, friends and community -

We are creating this GoFundMe in support of our beloved Coach Manny and his family. As with many families in Altadena in the Eaton Fire, the Martinez family experienced indescribable loss. On the night of January 7, 2025, Manny and his family; wife, and their two kids that attend La Canada High School, quickly packed what they could as the fire raged at incredible speed fanned by winds up to 100mph. They came back only to find a pile of ashes.

We are deeply heartbroken for Manny and his family. He is a very private person, and we are grateful he is now willing to allow us to try to give back for all he’s brought to our high school mountain bike team and community. A family friend tried to set up a GoFundMe earlier, but Manny asked to take it down, as in his words, ‘there are more needy people.” That’s the kind of person Manny is, so wonderfully loving and always thinking of others first. But now is the time we can all help Manny and his family.

Coach Manny has brought so much warmth and happiness to our team. The posted photo of Manny and his son, Elai, is how they come to every team ride, always with amazing, uplifting cheer. Those warm smiles never go away when he’s riding with the team, and most of the time he’s riding with our youngest and newest riders, ones that are already nervous navigating for the first time a rocky downhill and need that positive energy.

Below is a loving and truly heartbreaking post from Manny’s sister in law that we want to share:

“Manuel, my brother in law and his family lost their house in the Eaton fire. He said it took all of 2 hours for the whole house to decimate to an unrecognizable scatter of gray ashes. When I first heard the news, I thought "Manuel never was a materialistic person. They got out alive. He sounds ok on the phone given the circumstances". But then when I saw them in person, and I got a tiny glimpse of the horror they just went thru, leaving them rootless and disoriented, I remembered. I remembered the many years they rented a shoebox size of a studio to save up for a house. The times he told me about pressure washing trash containers for living. The way he kept going forward with kindness when he encountered racism and exploitation. The way he tended to his house and backyard, a place he was able to grow things that was his own and see his children grow from toddlers to high school kids taller than him now. My niece told me there were two mugs that survived the fire which were inside their dishwasher when they fled. And a tangerine tree still standing intact. Manuel gave me all these tangerines from that tree and kept throwing them into the basket I used to bring them some dinner last night. He has lost everything in the blink of an eye, and he was STILL GIVING and sharing what he had.”

So please kindly consider donating. 100% of donations will go to the Martinez family to help them get back on their feet by purchasing basic essentials such as clothes, school supplies and basic home goods.

Any little contribution helps, goes a long way and is deeply appreciated. God bless this dear, beautiful family.

With love,

La Canada High School MTB Team