The St. Paul, Minnesota school where Philando Castile used to work at had an honorable practice of making sure that every student gets a lunch, whether or not they can afford to pay for it. Sometimes, Castile would even pay for student’s lunches with money out of his own pocket. To honor this legacy, a fund has been started to wipe out all of the debt the school built up making sure every student is fed. 

Philando Feeds the Children” was started by Inver Hills Community College professor Pam Fergus, who typically asks each of her Diversity and Ethics to come up with a service project. Instead, CBS affiliate WCCO reports that she came up with one of her own.

“In memory of Philando Castile, this site is collecting donations to pay off elementary school kids’ lunch debt,” reads the page. “The J.J. Hill school is several thousand dollars short.  Some kids get free lunch, but many kids come from families with incomes slightly above the cut off.  They get behind in payments, and need our help.”

The fund was started with a $5,000 goal but raised a full $3,500 in just a week. As of this writing, it’s raised just under $16,000. Castile’s mother has pledged to match the funds raised to help honor her late son was shot by a police officer last summer.

“She said the only thing I want for my son is for people to remember him with honor and dignity,” said Fergus.