Santa Fe Christian Schools community raises more than $30K for custodian who lost his car in a fire

A fundraiser by the Santa Fe Christian Schools community collected more than $30,000 for a custodian, Clemente Mejia, who lost his truck in a fire.

“Mr. Mejia does so much for our school and we are so appreciative of his years of service supporting us,” read the GoFundMe page. “We want to do something to help him through this unfortunate situation and help to replace his truck! Insurance will help but will not provide enough for a replacement.

Donations soon poured in from about 250 people.

An update posted by students involved in the GoFundMe campaign said, “we are so inspired, moved, thrilled, and awestruck by your desire to help Clemente Mejia.”

Dante Rotchford, a senior at Santa Fe Christian High School, said during an episode of the Eagle Perspective Podcast that he witnessed Mejia’s car catch fire under the hood on a recent Friday morning.

“It was very hard to watch, to see him ask for nothing for the past 25 years and to see his car go up in flames, it was really hard to watch,” he said.

Sandy Cameron, a senior and one of the leaders of the school’s service club, recalled the smoke, flames, police cars and firetrucks she saw while driving into school that morning.

“Clemente is such an asset to our school and does so much for our community and is such a bright light,” she said on the podcast. “We had to think, how can we give back to someone who has given so much to us?”

Mejia addressed students in the gymnasium shortly after the fundraiser gained momentum and raised enough to provide him another truck.

“Thank you guys for everything you did for me,” he said, based on a video clip that was included in the podcast.

Mike Siciliano, dean of students, said on the podcast that he was impressed with the community response.

“It’s not really about the dollar figure,” he said. “It’s about the coming together.”