Chance the Rapper just gave back to his hometown of Chicago in a big way! Today, he donated one million dollars to the Chicago Public School Foundation for arts education. The check was presented at Westcott Elementary School, where Chance made it clear that his monetary contribution to the school district, in which he was born and raised in, was a “call to action”.
His large donation comes just days after his, as he describes “vague” meeting with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. Chance met with the governor to discuss other funding options for Chicago Public Schools, as the school district is suffering from a $129 million budget deficit, due to Gov. Rauner vetoing a bill that could have assisted with the school district’s pension bill.
Chance expressed: “While I’m frustrated and disappointed in the governor’s inaction, that will not stop me from continuing to do all I can in supporting Chicago’s most valuable resource: its children.”
On top of his large donation, Chance will be giving $10,000 to Westcott Elementary School. He also charged wealthy Chicagoans to donate to Chicago schools and promised that every $100,000 raised, his organization “Social Works Chicago”, will donate $10,000 directly to a Chicago school.
“This donation was made possible by my fans, through ticket sales for my upcoming tour and an unprecedented coordination from Live Nation, AEG, and Ticketmaster, competing corporations who were able to band together — also with independent promoters and venues across the country — to use funds from ticket sales to donate to CPS…I’m honored to make this donation to Chicago Public Schools Foundation and help cultivate Chicago creative minds.”
Now that’s how you use your platform!