Valley Grande Mexican Grille raised money for a noble cause on Sunday. Carlos Caballero had worked for the Maplesville location of the restaurant for almost three years before his untimely death a few weeks ago. Caballero died in a car accident on his way to work and Sergio Sanchez, the owner of Valley Grande Mexican Grille, said the fundraiser was a way to raise funds to get Carlos back home to his family.

“[Carlos] had no family over here in the U.S.,” he said. “We talked to his mom in Mexico and she basically begged me to send her son back to Mexico [to be buried].”

After the request, Sanchez spoke to his staff and they decided to have the fundraiser to offset the cost of sending their friend’s body home to Mexico.

“A funeral is really expensive, so you can only imagine how much it is to get him across to another country,” Sanchez said.

With the expenses in mind, the team spent a week planning and organizing the event. Sanchez said he couldn’t be happier with the amount of support shown from the community.

“We did the fundraiser in both Valley Grande and Maplesville locations, and it was an amazing turnaround,” he said. “It was overwhelming how much support we got from all of our customers.”

Caballero was more than just an employee to the Mexican grille team.

“It’s really sad overall, and not just losing Carlos as a worker,” Sanchez said. “He was an amazing asset, but also a friend and family member to us.”

All employees from both locations volunteered their time Sunday and worked with no pay to ensure the fundraiser was a success. Sanchez said there were even volunteers there to help with the busy crowd.

“We felt like it was our obligation to do this for him,” he said. “We couldn’t just let it go and not do this for him.”

Sanchez said the day would not have been a success without the community’s constant support.

“I really want to thank the Dallas County community,” he said. “They have always been nothing but amazing. We have a one of a kind community.”