In October 2013, Shawnee Mission West’s Andre Maloney passed away from a stroke occurring during a football game. He had a great impact on the lives of many. Being the star football player, he was missed dearly by everyone, even by those who had never spoken a word to him.

Rosaelida Montoya Cardenas, Andre’s mother, missed him the most. A few months after her son’s death she decided to open a café in his memory. Montoya Cardenas named the restaurant Café 29, referring to the football number that Andre used to possess.

The café is decorated with old jerseys of Andre’s, his helmet, and a large mural of him on the football field. The café is a wonderful way to keep the memory of Andre and all of his accomplishments alive.

Three months after opening, Café 29 is facing their largest problem: they are on the brink of closing. The bank gave the café 10 days to make $5,000 in order to stay in business. This seemed to be a tragedy to the family, however, one former student/friend of Andre’s who goes by the name Gurpreet Singh created a “Go Fund Me” website.

Go Fund Me is a website where you can write a short summary of the situation you are trying to raise money for and people are able to donate money to the cause through the internet. In the short summary that Singh wrote for the site he said, “Whether it is through donations or actually going to the café, please help support Café 29 and prevent it from being shut down. There has been a 10 day notice given to the café. Please help as much as you can.”

This website has been flying through social media as friends and classmates of Andre’s donate money as much money as they can spare. The amount of $3,615 has been raised by 108 people in 8 days. This numbers continues to grow by the hour. This is a great especially considering the goal is $5,000.

Café 29 is a wonderful place that remembers Andre Maloney. No one wants to see it shut down especially considering we are able to help out. It would be very inspiring if our community was able to raise enough money to keep this wonderful café up and running.

You can donate money at this site: https://www.gofundme.com/7g6uw67g. Anything helps!