Car Donation in Michigan

Just two weeks after his nineteenth birthday, Gabriel Gutierrez had a tumor removed from his body.

When biopsy results came back, he was faced with a diagnosis of Stage 3 cancer, which had started to spread.

Doctors worked quickly to stop the spread to Gabriel’s brain. Now only a month after his birthday, he was in the ICU, receiving chemotherapy.

Since Gabriel started treatment, his mother, Patricia Solis, had to stop working. Bills, however, kept coming, and she turned to Texans Can Academies, where Gabriel was in his senior year. The school stepped in to help with food, utilities, and rental-assistance referrals. With these resources in place, Gabriel’s family could focus on what was most important: his recovery—and his future.

Over the next few months, Gabriel’s teachers called or texted to ask how he was. His family was assured that, while Gabriel was getting better, he could also still get his diploma. They were there to support him.

“The whole staff at Can is amazing at helping us,” Patricia said.

The family has known Texans Can for some time. Gabriel’s younger sister attends there also, and his older brother, now a student at St. Philip’s College, is a Texans Can graduate.

This May, the same will be true of Gabriel. Thanks to the support he and his family have received from Texans Can, Gabriel can look forward to a new part of his journey. His teachers say his courage has inspired them all.

“He wants to attend college and be a firefighter,” Patricia said.

Gabriel continues to battle his cancer, but his family is hopeful that chemotherapy will soon be behind him. He has much to look forward to.

The impact Eddie’s mentor made on him stays with him to this day. Now, seven years after graduation, Eddie is an award-winning store manager for AT&T, a company he has stayed with since he graduated. He has traveled abroad, and he has purchased his second home. Because of his experiences at school and help from Texans Can - Cars for Kids and the success he has known since, he wants to give back, being a mentor to young men who, like him, have had to go without the love and guidance of a father.

Back at my other school my behavior and lack of attendance was a big problem and I thought I would never graduate. I used to skip class all the time and chill with my friends. I always got into trouble doing stupid stuff. I knew one day it would catch up to me. 

I got into trouble in school one day and was arrested. During court, I saw my mom cry my dad also told me that my girl was crying. It felt really bad knowing that I was hurting them both. I knew I had to straighten up but where to start? I was stuck. I felt like giving up and I didn’t know what to do. I would have been locked up for 4 years but the judge gave me a 2nd chance, 9 months of probation, wanting me to keep going to school was the first step.  

It was hard trying to find a school that accepted me. The school board of education kicked me out of the A.I.S.D. district. I couldn’t enroll anywhere, until I found Austin Can! Academy. Other than the judge, this school gave me a 2nd chance. It was like everything I needed to graduate. It gave me hope, the teachers are fun and can teach real good. They always help you and give you special attention when you need it, and it really helped me. With the help of my family, my girl and especially Austin Can! I am now a high school graduate!! The first in my family.

I Love Austin CAN! Academy.

At the age of 12, Kim’s mother loaded the family car with a few belongings and her four children leaving McAllen, TX and a failed marriage to the past.

Though her mother held two jobs to make ends meet, the family squeezed into a one bedroom apartment in East Austin. “We didn’t have a bed. We had one pull-out couch, and I would rather have my brothers and my mom sleep on it than me. She worked so much,” Kim remarks.

“You wish you could do so much more to help the people you love, but I wasn’t old enough. I really wasn’t old enough – I was 14. I was still a kid, but I never really felt like a kid because I always had such a heavy weight to carry.” Kim’s love for her brothers can be compared to that of a mother’s love. Ray, a younger brother, was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of three. Ray’s treatments required the family to stay in the Ronald McDonald House for extended periods of time. Ray has since entered remission and undergone more treatment, but this hardship changed Kim’s personal understanding of her role in supporting the family and sparked her interest in pursuing the medical field.

Ultimately, the burden of caring for her brothers affected her attendance and led to her dismissal from her local high school. Austin Can Academy was not a part of the plan Kim set for herself. Principal Oakes remembers, “She had a hard time adjusting in the beginning. It was obvious she didn’t want to be here, but it only took that first day for her to realize that we were here to support her. After that day, it clicked. She was unstoppable.”

“Austin Can teachers taught you more than you needed to know. When I asked a questions they offered answers that lead me to more thoughtful questions. Austin Can makes you feel like family. You don’t feel, how do you say it in English? I want to say ‘No estorbes,’ like you’re not a bother. If I didn’t make it to school on time, I got text messages and phone calls. When your parents can’t be there to push you, the advisors are there to keep you on track. My mom didn’t talk to me about college – Austin Can did that.”

Graduation was so close Kim could feel it. She came rested and ready for her state exams, and then the worst happened – she didn’t finish her English exam within the five hour time limit. Six weeks later, the news that she failed her English STAAR exam hit her hard but she was positive. “Not passing the STAAR test wasn’t the same rejection I felt from other times in my life. I had support around me telling me that I needed to study a little harder. You can’t lose hope with that kind of support,” remarks Kim.

While continuing to study for her state exams, Kim completed her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training and certification at Austin Can. “The Certified Nursing Assistant program allowed me to start working above minimum wage. This certification isn’t the end all, it is the first step into the medical field. Now, I’m working on my Medical Aid Certificate. I’m making a decent amount, and I can continue my classes without having to pick up extra shifts. I’ve been helping the other CNA students get jobs – one of the girls has a house now. Nursing opens so many doors. I enjoy what I do. I want to make a difference in someone’s life.”

Kim has since graduated from Austin Can and continues the effort to surround herself with positive, driven and empowering people. “When you hang around with people who are not on an upward path, you’re not going to change. When you decide to make a change, you have to make the choice about who you spend your time with. Even if it is family or friends, if they don’t get it – you have to remove yourself.”

“The students – we don’t have a lot, we’re not lucky like others. The support people give to the school takes a weight off of our shoulders. It’s a chance for us to become something or somebody. There are people my age who have two jobs. When I tell people about my high school experience, they wish they would have known about Austin Can. The Can doesn’t let you walk out with your diploma, they’re going to help you create those first steps.”

“Honestly, I’ve never felt so stable and happy. Austin Can gave me a confidence to make it through the tough times. In times that I felt like giving up because of the obstacles in my life, Austin Can changed my way of thinking and acting in hard situations. You take what you’ve been through and you take what you’ve seen and you use that to make an impact. I may not be the one to break the chain, but I at least want to be the one to weaken it. I tell my brothers, they can do this – they can make it.”

Kim currently works as a CNA while continuing her coursework to be a Medical Aid. She plans to pursue a degree in nursing and work with children with chronic disease. “Where do I see myself in five years? It’s not so much where I see myself, with an RN degree you can do so much. How I want to feel in five years – I want to be happy. I want to love what I do and want to move forward in that. I just want to be happy really.”

My name is Kaya and I am a Texans Can Academy alumna.

Originally from a rough Chicago neighborhood, Kaya was frequently in fights.

“That was the only way I knew how to deal with things,” she says. “It was important to show others in the neighborhood I could protect myself.”

Despite a move to Arlington that brought positive change to her family, Kaya still fought at school and skipped classes. She reached out to teachers and advisors for help, but they seemed either busy, or like they didn’t know how.

In December 2017, Kaya was involved in another fight at school. This time, she was arrested. She calls the experience “eye-opening.”

“I can do better than this,” she decided.

After the arrest, with public school no longer an option for her, Kaya learned of Texans Can and enrolled at the Carrollton/Farmers Branch campus.

“It was so different,” Kaya says. “Other students were positive. Everyone had a story and a mission they are trying to accomplish for their lives. The teachers and advisors were supportive and showed me that I was welcomed and cared for.”

During her time at the Can, Kaya never missed a class. She joined their championship-winning golf team, on which she served as captain; went from failing to straight A’s; passed the SAT with a score of 1270—which is above average—and applied to over thirty colleges.

Kaya is also a recipient of the Ann and Nate Levine Scholarship, which she will apply to her college education.

“My plan is to join the reserves and then go to college directly after boot camp,” she says. “I want to study psychology and form a career around helping girls like myself who are in difficult situations.”

Kaya graduated from Texans Can – Dallas in 2019.