GoFundMe for 8-year-old homeless chess champion doubles goal

A GoFundMe page for an 8-year-old homeless refugee who won a statewide chess competition in New York more than doubled its goal of raising $50,000 to help the boy and his family find a home.

Tanitoluwa Adewumi won the state’s chess championship for his age group earlier this month and gained national attention following a New York Times article that detailed his family’s living conditions in a Manhattan homeless shelter.

The GoFundMe page, which was established Sunday with a goal of $50,000 to “help Tani’s family secure a home where he can continue on his journey,” quickly surpassed that amount, raising more than $100,000 as of Monday afternoon.

{mosads}Tanitoluwa, known as “Tani,” emigrated to New York from Nigeria with his family in 2017 and quickly picked up the game after joining his school’s chess club.

According to the GoFundMe page, Tani won the competition after playing chess for a little more than a year.

“Tani IS ALL HEART!,” the page reads.

More than 1,300 individuals had donated in less than 48 hours.

Russ Makofsky, the creator of the page and Tani’s chess teacher, posted an update on the GoFundMe page on Monday saying he is “speechless” from the outpouring of support for Tani and his family.

The Adewumis have reportedly applied for asylum in the U.S. and have an immigration hearing scheduled for August that will take place three months after Tani is set to compete at the elementary national chess championship.