Help Antoine rest his little brother in peace

Jalen Jimerson was a light in a room, 19 and gone too soon. 

Anyone lucky enough to meet this bright, intelligent, and loving young soul expressed how much love, laughter, and happiness they felt from being around him. Graduating in May of 2021, Jalen loved testing the barriers of sound and audio. He was a huge car fanatic and loved Paul Walker. Unfortunately, on February 2nd, a home invasion occurred, and Jalen passed. No mother, brother, or grandmother could ever imagine having to bury someone so youthful.

Jalen Jimerson was a light in a room, 19 and gone too soon. 

 

Although many of us at Upwork were never lucky enough to meet Jalen in person, we sure met him in spirit. The spark in Antoine's eye and immense pride in his voice when telling anyone about his little brother was illuminating and inspiring. Antoine was not just Jalen's older brother. He was a role model and caretaker for this young man making sure he continued on the right path and supporting him in every possible way. I worked closely with Antoine for many years and have been lucky enough to cultivate a true friendship based on my respect for him as a person, leader, teacher, and caregiver, and I cannot fathom the loss he is feeling now.

 

For those who do not know Antoine, he has one of the greatest Upwork success stories that not only highlights our core values but reflects the genuinely unique culture carrier Antoine is. Kelsi Rohrmann and I hired Antoine as a Day Porter through our vendor Office Luv in 2019. He proved to be a fantastic asset to the team and an office "fan favorite" with everyone in Chicago. Antoine listened, learned, and soaked in our culture and business, and through his relationships with our Chicago Employees, he became fascinated with our business model and culture. He took the initiative to learn more and more and was successfully brought on as a Hybrid Worker as an Associate Business Development Representative for the Sale Team. He continues to shine in this role under Chris Walden's leadership and recently moved many of us in a thought-provoking and honest conversation during our Open Forum on Empowered Antiracism back in November.  He was also recently highlighted in Upwork's Black History Month Campaign and led with this inspiring quote. “A future with more bright minorities in power means there’s more opportunity and equality being spread throughout the world. I personally feel like this will be a breakthrough as more ideas, opinions, creativity, etc. can become one and combine to create even bigger things.”

 

With this Go Fund Me, we hope to offset some of the costly burdens on Antoine as a brother and caregiver as he says goodbye to his little brother. So if you were ever lucky enough to have a deep conversation with Antoine, or he helped you out in the office, or you were inspired by his words and openness to talk, or simply want to honor his brother or make a donation in honor of your brother any little bit will him these two souls find the peace they deserve. He is making the preparations now, so the sooner we can help, the easier it will be on him.

I genuinely thank you all in advance for the help and support of my friend! 

One Upwork, One Love. 

-John Feste Workplace Manager

For full transparency As Antoine's former manager and friend before setting this page up I spoke to him about how he would like to receive these funds.  He asked that I collect them to my bank account and transfer them to him via Check or Cash App.  I'm happy to share the final total I send to him and any accompanying documentation if needed.  Thanks again!