The HBCU Week Foundation is helping Black students across the country receive a higher education without the burden of student debt. The foundation has given over 1,000 scholarships to students ranging from $10,000 to $132,000, thus lessening the debt for students once they graduated.
“Our core focus is to make sure that any Black student who wants to go to an HBCU can do so without crippling debt,” said Ashley Christopher, Esq., CEO of HBCU Week Foundation, “I tell the students I speak to, it’s your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not be the minority.”
Christopher outlined the benefits of having other students by your side and forming relationships that will help you reach your end goals. “Going to an HBCU is a community; you really find your people, and these are lifelong connections.”
To finance scholarship projects, the foundation has also landed significant corporate partners. For example, it recently inked a $40 million agreement with the American Chemistry Council to give $40,000 scholarships for STEM students, which include internships and job placement after graduation. Disney is now a partner of the HBCU Week Foundation. The foundation is currently working towards taking the national stage at Disney World. Stephen A. Smith and David Roberts of ESPN are brand ambassadors for the foundation.
A strong vision drives Christopher and her team’s sincere commitment to enabling Black students to thrive in all areas. Financial aid allows students to focus on studying rather than borrowing, allowing them to take part completely in their education.
Christopher founded HBCU Week in 2017, with the mission of encouraging enrollment into HBCUs, providing scholarship dollars for matriculation, and maintaining a pipeline of employment from undergraduate school to corporate America. She is also a two-time HBCU alumna. Christopher attended Howard University for undergraduate school, then later attended the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law.
