The teenager who died Friday after being struck by a tree knocked down in a windstorm has been described as a "good kid" with a bright future.

Shakir Salaam was in a park near Clayton Heights Secondary School in Surrey when the tree fell, pinning his body to the ground.

Firefighters said it took four people to get the 15-year-old student out from under the tree. He was rushed to hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.

Following his death, friends and family described the boy as a bright student and a responsible teenager.

"He was an amazing individual. You couldn't ask for a better kid," the mother of one of Salaam's friends said through tears on Saturday.

"He was a smart, charming, good kid," another mourner told CTV Vancouver.

"He was smiling all the time."

Salaam's friends, family, classmates and teachers gathered near the grounds of the school on Saturday to pay their respects and remember the young, talented athlete.

"We're going to see what we can do to start a scholarship for rugby in his name," said family friend Lisa Borchardt.

"I'm just really going to miss him."

Doug Strachan of the Surrey School District said the news was devastating for the entire school and several others. Support will be available on Monday for students grieving the loss of their classmate.

An online fundraiser has been set up on GoFundMe for anyone wishing to make a donation for Salaam's family, and more than $17,000 had been raised in the first 18 hours.

The page's initial goal was $7,500 to cover the costs of Salaam's funeral and meals for the family, but it was quickly doubled, and its organizer added larger plans.

Part of the money will be donated to local mosques "for perpetual prayers," while another portion is slated to go toward the local Muslim food bank.

Some of the money will go toward setting up a water well in an "impoverished country," the page reads. The rest will go toward a rugby scholarship or grant, "given yearly to two students who represent the integrity and spirit Shakir was known for."

The funds will also cover a plaque to be placed at the school that Salaam attended and loved.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Sarah MacDonald