The Kiara Anderson and Marshawn Stewart Fund

Hello,

I'm Trent Williams and I am organizing a fundraiser to provide coverage for both the families of Kiara Anderson and Marshawn Stewart.

Both scholars were my fellow high school classmates and part of my graduation class (Perspectives Calumet leadership academy, Class of 2013). Kiara (25) lost her life to a bad asthma attack on Monday, April 27th and Marshawn (25) passed away on Thursday, April 30th due to an unexpected seizure. Both were college bound scholars who had big dreams of advancing their careers and making their families proud of them. Kiara earned her bachelors at Malcolm X college with a major in Nursing, and Marshawn was on the brink of earning his bachelors in Business at Talladega College. Before COVID-19, his graduation ceremony was slated for Sunday, May 3rd...

They were both adored by all of their peers from high school and beyond for their cool and laid back charisma and ability to find the joy in life, despite everything they've been through. While I did not know both of them personally, I had a few classes with them and they were always nice and spoke to me. Post- high school, I followed both peers on social media until the very end of their journey.

Throughout my early pursuits to be an actor/ filmmaker in high school, whenever I premiered something new for the whole school to see, both Marshawn and Kiara would always find a second to catch me in the halls or before class started to tell me that they enjoyed my work and to keep doing me and “keep creating”. They were always only brief exchanges, but that motto to “Keep Creating” has stuck with me to this day and has positively molded my attitude towards my career.

These two back to back passings have really stuck with me because not only were all 3 of us the same age, but it hit so close to home, and all within the span of a few days. It was just another reminder that tommorow is never promised. With me and most of my peers growing up on the South Side of Chicago, the dreadful thought of death was an everyday reality for us, especially after the shooting death of our classmate, Andrew Powell. To live long enough to be able to walk across the stage at our high school graduation and head off to college often felt like a fantasy dream that could only happen in the movies.

I am grateful to have met them at a time period where I started to gain the confidence to be myself and pursue my dreams to the highest extent, and I would like to honor their legacies through this fundraiser. 

All proceeds will be split 50/50 evenly and go towards both the families of Kiara and Marshawn to help cover funeral costs and arrangements.

ALL DONATIONS ARE WELCOME.

In the midst of a global pandemic in 2020 where millions of people are now unemployed and finding themselves unable to pay bills on time, we fully understand your situation and are requesting for whatever sized donation that you can spare to our fund. It does not make a difference whether you can spare $1000 or just $1. Either way, we are very grateful that you decided to help the cause. 

We will be having this fundraiser until
Friday, May 15th

Thank you so much for reading and have a blessed day.