<div>“Big René” • “The Salsa King”
</div>
<div>Sunrise: February 12, 1961
</div>
<div>Sunset: October 2, 2025
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our beloved René Cruz Caraballo, affectionately known as Big René and The Salsa King, fought a courageous five-year battle with cancer. Many of you witnessed his strength, humor, and unwavering love for his family and community. Though he fought with all his heart, René ultimately finished his earthly race and went home to be with the Lord after battling leukemia.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>During his final season, René made the most important decision of his life — he accepted our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and opened his heart to full forgiveness and peace through Him. As 1 John 1:9 reminds us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In that moment, René found the freedom and grace that only Jesus can give. We hold on to the promise of 2 Timothy 4:7 — “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Before his passing, Big René dreamed of spending his final days in Puerto Rico, his beloved homeland. Although he didn’t make it there physically, his spirit will always belong to La Isla del Encanto, and we are determined to fulfill his final wish by taking his ashes home to rest.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>To honor René’s life, we will hold an epic homegoing celebration at Club Puertoriqueño a Puerto Rican Social Hall — filled with joy, music, stories, and love, just the way he lived. René proudly served as President of the Puerto Rican Club in San Francisco for four years, where he uplifted his community through laughter, generosity, and, of course, salsa dancing. It’s only fitting that his celebration of life takes place in the very hall where he created so many unforgettable memories and friendships.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>But this celebration won’t be complete until his ashes reach his island. Our goal is to celebrate his life from the Bay to Puerto Rico, so that family and friends on both shores can come together to honor his legacy one last time.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The funds raised will go toward:
</div>
<div>Homegoing celebrations in San Francisco and Puerto Rico
</div>
<div>✈️ Travel expenses to bring his ashes home to the island
</div>
<div>A final celebration of life with music, food, and dancing — just as The Salsa King would have wanted.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Big René’s final wish was to go to Puerto Rico with his sons — Giovani, Karim, Christopher, and René Jr. Any donation, no matter how small, will help make this dream a reality and give his family the chance to say goodbye in the most meaningful way possible.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your love, prayers, and support.
</div>
<div>Big René is deeply missed, but his spirit and legacy will live on forever in the hearts of everyone he touched.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Con mucho amor,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The Caraballo Family
</div>

Thomas Iannuzzi

Johnny Saldivia

Yosof Radman

Vincent v Maita

Jesus Ramos

Estor Lopez

Carlos Lopez

Lizette Tavares

Leticia Alvarez

Roxanne Diaz

Anonymous

Sal Alcala

Richard Caraballo

Isabel Berrios

Renee Vargas

Lola Whittle

Josh & Martee Rodriguez

Sam Horwich-Scholefield

In Loving Memory Of René Cruz Caraballo

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Just $650$ to go! Make an impact.

In Loving Memory Of René Cruz Caraballo

Just $650 to go!
Make an impact.