Ra’Shaud J. Graham Fund launched for graduating Lake City seniors

LAKE CITY, SC (WMBF) - The Ra’Shaud J. Graham Fund has launched in partnership with the Eastern Carolina Foundation.

Its goal is to give back to the Lake City community by providing academic scholarships to graduating Lake City High School seniors. It will also aid in crisis and emergency funding for people with immediate needs in Lake City.

The fund is in honor of Ra’Shaud J. Graham, a Lake City High School graduate and Citadel alumnus. Graham graduated with a history degree and returned to Lake City to teach social studies at the middle school. He then left to go back to Charleston as the Fellowship for Christian Athletes campus director at the Citadel.

Graham died in a fishing accident in the late spring. His family and friends have created this fund in his honor, hoping to lead more kids to success.

“In the five months since this devastating loss, a team of family and friends, led by his mother Chanda Graham, fiancé Alysse Dowdy, and mentor Matt Apicella, have come together to find a way to continue his legacy. A legacy of service, and generosity that he started organically in his daily life. The Eastern Carolina Community Foundation is a non-profit working to serve the Pee Dee Region through individual funds that are invested together to meet the needs of the local community,” the fund’s news release states.

All donations are tax deductible. Click here for more information.

Learn more about Ra’Shaud and how the Lake City community memorialized him over the summer in a WMBF News special here.

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