Target, Anthony Anderson, Big Sean, Ronnie DeVoe, Kevin Hart, Chris Paul, Usher Raymond and Pharrell Williams collectively donate more than $500,000 to students at 36th annual show.
*WASHINGTON – Top brands and top celebrities in the entertainment and sports worlds collectively donated more than $500,000 in scholarships to students in need at the 36th annual taping of UNCF An Evening of Stars,® which airs nationally on Sunday, April 26 at 10p/9c on BET Networks.
For three and a half decades, UNCF An Evening of Stars® has been the hallmark of African American superstars supporting education. In continuation of its tradition of star power giving, UNCF has partnered with major corporations, leading artists, and their personal foundations, to deliver on UNCF’s motto: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in®.” More than one half million dollars were donated to 20 students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as a part of this year’s show.
National sponsors McDonald’s and Wells Fargo have each contributed millions of dollars to UNCF to support students in making it to and through college, and to make UNCF An Evening of Stars® possible. Special videos were shown during UNCF An Evening of Stars® that featured the commitment of McDonald’s and Wells Fargo in supporting minority higher education. McDonald’s and the Black Owners and Operators have several scholarship programs across the country through UNCF, awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. In just the past three years, Wells Fargo has invested over $3 million dollars to support scholarships, UNCF An Evening of Stars®, and the UNCF Empower Me Tour.
The UNCF/Target Rising Stars scholarship is a $25,000 award for five current sophomores at UNCF HBCUs who excel as leaders in the classroom and make a difference in their campus and communities. The 2015 class of Target Rising Stars includes: Frank Adams of Chicago, a Physics Major at Clark Atlanta University; Tatiana Holder of Las Vegas, a Criminal Justice Major at Benedict College; Donnie Pulliam of Midway, G.A., a Political Science Major at Morehouse College; Dennis Richmond, Jr. of Yonkers, N.Y.; an African American Studies Major at Claflin University; and Jajuan Sanders of Baltimore, a Theology Major at Oakwood University.
UNCF/ Buick Achievers Rising Star Daria Jordan hit the red carpet at UNCF An Evening of Stars® with top executives from Buick and the General Motors Foundation. She is part of a special group of Buick Achievers Scholars being celebrated as the first class of graduates to have received the scholarship their entire college careers.
“Before I received the scholarship, I was always worried about how I would pay for [Spelman], my dream school,” says Jordan, a senior at Spelman College majoring in Computer Science. “With the Buick Achievers
source:
Toni Thompson
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