The Heart Behind the Fund
The Story of Chris Carnero
Chris Carnero was everything that is good in the world. His story didn’t begin with ease—born with drugs in his system and having endured abuse as an infant, he came into the care of the Carnero family when he was just four months old. He was so excited to finally be adopted that he proudly told everyone in his preschool class. On April 24, 2018, that joyful day arrived, and he insisted everyone wear Chicago Cubs jerseys to court. But long before that official day, he had already begun changing our lives and the world around him.
From the very beginning, Chris possessed a heart that naturally gravitated toward giving. He loved making people smile and laugh, becoming a fixture at community events. At the start of the school year, he helped hand out backpacks and supplies. For Thanksgiving, he packed boxes for families, making sure they included not just the meal essentials, but what he considered the absolute "best snacks and drinks." During the holidays, he handed out thousands of Christmas gifts and helped set up trees and lights in homes so others could experience the magic of the season. At Easter, he built baskets and played games with the kids. He attended thousands of events with us, and he left every single one with a few more best friends. The Love Like Chris Legacy Fund was created to keep these exact memories alive, ensuring that his tradition of hands-on, joyful giving continues to touch lives.
To Chris, no one was a stranger. He had an incredible, quiet power to make people feel safe, seen, and important. If you were shy, scared, or nervous, Chris was right there to make you feel like you belonged. His love started at home but spilled into everything he did. For his friends, he set up a pantry full of snacks and placed a bin in our bathroom filled with toiletries, ensuring anyone could take what they needed without the burden of asking. He was a fierce protector, standing up to bullies time and time again. He even gave his own friends an ultimatum: either welcome the kids being left out or lose his friendship entirely. Chris had a hundred best friends because he gave his friendship so freely. Through the legacy fund, we hope to echo that same quiet power—stepping in to provide for those who are struggling or feeling left out, just as he did.
As much as he poured into his friends and his community, family was the true center of Chris’s universe. His heart was so expansive that he had countless extended moms, dads, sisters, and brothers because of how closely he bonded with everyone he loved. Within his home, he looked up to his dad, Manny, and his older brother, Damian, wanting to do whatever they were doing; any time he could spend just driving around with his brother was the absolute best. Though his sister was ten years older than him, they were incredibly close, sharing a profoundly special bond from the very first moment. Because he was adopted, Chris also had several other brothers and sisters, many of whom he never got the chance to even know. But his parents, Manny and Janel just adored him in every single way. He was the perfect mixture of his family, plus all the extra sparkle of his own self. He was determined, kind, gentle, adventurous, smart, funny, and so much more—all wrapped up in a tiny 13-year-old's body.
He poured that same relentless joy into his passions. A die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, he dreamed of one day seeing a game in person. He was also a devoted Chicago Cubs fan from the time he was just four months old. At two years old, he dressed up as his favorite player, Anthony Rizzo, for Halloween, and even named his dog Rizzo. Chris loved football, soccer, and baseball, playing as a switch hitter on multiple teams until COVID paused the games. He thought for sure he was going to be a professional football player—despite actively disliking tackling or being tackled—and in every photo on a field, he is glowing with a giant smile. He LOVED life and every moment of it.
His eyes were also drawn to the skies. Chris had a deep love for aviation and joined the EAA program with dreams of one day becoming a pilot. He volunteered at every airshow, absolutely obsessed with the acrobat planes, especially the ones that spun and dove. True to his nature, he spent those events chatting with the pilots, eager to learn, and walking away from every single airshow with a new group of friends.
When faced with severe dyslexia and dysgraphia, Chris refused to let anything hold him back. He worked tirelessly with a private tutor for years. Astonishingly, just two years after reading at a second-grade level, he made the honor roll for his entire middle school year. Once he finally conquered reading, he immediately turned around and began reading to other kids who were still struggling, pulling them forward with him.
Chris loved to travel and explore, but more than anything, he LOVED the water. No matter where we went or how cold it was, if there was water nearby, Chris was trying to get in it. We could be at Disney World, and three hours in, he’d be trying to hurry up and get to the pools to swim with his siblings. Alongside rides, water, and exploring, his greatest travel passion was eating; he spent hours looking up restaurants and planning out the most epic meals for us to share.
When he was hospitalized, the sheer volume of love he had put out into the world came rushing back. Hundreds of kids visited us, wrote letters, made posters, and flooded social media with support. After his passing on April 3, 2026, his friends began using the acronym LLC. We thought it meant "Long Live Chris," but they quickly corrected us: it meant "Love Like Chris." They knew that to Chris, kindness, giving back, and true friendship were the most important things in life.
Even in his final moments, Chris was a hero, bringing life and hope to 18 others through organ donation.
With the Love Like Chris Legacy Fund, we will keep his beautiful torch lit by supporting all areas of need within our community. The fund will continue Chris’s giving spirit of showing up in all the ways that matter when a need arises—whether that means providing sports equipment, food or clothing, supporting schools, funding repairs, or anything else. Chris showed up, and so we will continue to do the same.