More than $12,700 had been raised for the Stevens Institute junior on a GoFundMe as of Thursday morning.
The 20-year-old is the chapter president of Alpha Phi at Stevens. Her sorority "little" Briana Cheng launched the GoFundMe for her.
"I know she's strong enough to pull through," Cheng said on Facebook.
"As support I'm doing everything I can to try and help her family in this tough time. I started a gofundme to try and bring in as many donations as possible, as no family should ever have to pay for this."
Garino, formerly a BounceU employee in Paramus, is set to start treatment this month.
Words of encouragement poured in.
"Kristi is an amazing young lady," Suzanne Siniscalchi said on the GoFundMe. "Beautiful, sweet and incredibly bright and dedicated. She is working hard for her future and a career in the medical field. My son loves her and so do I."
"I've heard so many wonderful things about who you are as a person, student, and chapter president," Jenny Quispe said. "Keep the fire within you burning and I know you will overcome this."
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