Lil Durk has announced the development of the Dirk Banks Endowment Fund in collaboration with Amazon Music. Additionally, the rapper is awarding $50,000 scholarships to two Chicago students to attend Howard University.
The first two recipients of this scholarship will be announced today during Lil Durk’s performance at Howard University’s 2023 Springfest.
The two students were selected out of 20 participating in their Neighborhood Heroes HBCU College & Career Readiness Cohort Program.
Lil Durk Donates $250,000 to Howard’s Grace Grant
In addition to two separate $50,000 scholarships, Lil Durk will also donate $250,000 to Howard’s Grace Grant, a program designed to help students in need of tuition assistance, according to the university.
The grant was established in 2014 by President Frederick. In addition, the funding was intended to target students with the greatest financial need who wanted to stay in school and graduate with their class.
Since Grace Grant’s inception, recipients have seen a 15% increase in retention and a four-year graduation rate of 78%—a 32% increase compared to those who did not receive funding from the program.
I received a Grace Grant my last two years at Howard and it was a blessing! https://t.co/9P0XSU03Sw
– Did. (@keptlikeki) October 13, 2021
Lil Durk continues to give back through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation
Lil Durk is no stranger to giving back and sticking it out for his community! In 2022, he announced the launch of his Career Readiness Program through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation. The target was to transform the lives of 20 students.
Through this program, students were given the opportunity to go on an HBCU college tour. In addition, they were also able to visit various institutions in Atlanta and Alabama. In addition, some of them were invited to New York City to meet with executives from Sony, Alamo Records, and the New York Knicks, where they were able to shadow seasoned professionals.
Semaje von, one of the students, gives Dirk her flowers. Vaughan said that he had no hope for his future until this event.
“I didn’t believe in anything, but to be able to get opportunities like this is a huge lift from where I used to be.”
Lil Durk and the Neighborhood Heroes gave away nearly 30,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to inmates and staff in Illinois
If that’s not enough, Lil Durk also had a foundation partner with Chicago Votes. The two organizations also distributed 29,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), as first reported by The Shade Room. The distribution helped inmates and facility workers keep their hands clean as COVID-19 rates rose again.
Additionally, it was learned that the issue had been going on for months after a report surfaced about a severe water crisis inside one of Illinois’ largest prisons.
If you know Dirk, you know that giving back is in his blood, from feeding Chicago’s essential workers during COVID to providing back-to-school supplies to elementary school children. He is definitely a valuable voice of this generation.