Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty
HBCUs, along with other groups, are getting a major boost from Travis Scott thanks to a newly formed initiative.
On Tuesday (March 8th), the rapper announced the formation of Project HEAL in a press release. Project HEAL is a multi-tiered initiative with a focus on philanthropy to community-based groups including investments. Scott has pledged $5 million towards these efforts. The initiative’s first project is the Waymon Webster Scholarship Fund, named after the artist’s grandfather who was an educator at Prairie View A&M University. The fund offers $1 million in pledged scholarships to students at HBCUs who have demonstrated academic excellence by earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher and are in need of financial assistance in the second semester of their senior year in order to graduate. The fund will help 100 students with scholarships valued at $10,000 each. Applications for the fund can be filled out at cactusjackfoundation.com.
The scholarship fund is the first of four tiers in the Project HEAL initiative. “My grandfather was an educator who made a difference in thousands of young lives throughout his life. He is a major influence on me and countless others, whose dreams he believed in, whose hopes he invested in, and whose futures he made big. It’s in his spirit that we are creating projects and programs that will look to the future of our communities and create hope and excellence in as many lives as possible.”, said Scott in the press release announcing his involvement.
The other tiers include investments in free mental health and wellness programs aimed at helping younger people in Black and brown lower-income communities, with support by licensed social workers. This will be accessible through digital platforms and telephone hotlines. The third tier will be an expansion of the CACT.US Youth Design Center at TXRX Labs, which is located in Houston, Texas in collaboration with Scott’s Cactus Jack Foundation to provide more tools and resources for creatives including free studio space and job training and youth education. The last tier is to combat challenges to safety at large-scale events with the hope of establishing a blueprint going forward for future events to maximize safety for all attending utilizing experts from the emergency response and tech fields as well as government on the federal and local level.