Rap King Jay-Z to Take to the Stage to Help America’s Poorest Students

Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter has announced two fundraising concerts to take place at Carnegie Hall in New York in early February.  All proceeds from the two nights will be donated to The Shawn Carter Foundation and United Way of New York City.

In announcing the events Jay-Z said:

It’s every artist’s dream to play a venue as legendary as Carnegie Hall.  The fact that I can use the arts and my talent to benefit the education of the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs, and great thinkers makes for a legendary night.

At the moment, few fans will be able to afford the price of a ticket, which currently ranges from $500 to $2,500 each.  However, whilst the Foundation is targeting the event at high-level corporations whose financial power will help raise the largest sums for the charity, a limited number of tickets at prices more normal for a Jay-Z concert will be released at the end of January.

Founded in 2003, The Shawn Carter Foundation was established by Carter and his mother Gloria Carter, CEO of the Foundation, to:

help any individual facing socio-economic hardships further his or her education at institutions of higher learning.

To date, the Foundation has raised over $1 million to support over 750 students studying at around 100 institutes of learning throughout the United States.

Despite the fact that Carter did not graduate high school himself, he understands how essential further education is:

Education is super important.  I don’t have a high school diploma or a college diploma, but still […] I had to have some form of schooling to articulate my thoughts.

Earlier this year the Foundation hosted a carnival in New York at the ‘Making the Ordinary Extraordinary’ event at Hudson River Park, which also helped raise funds for further scholarships.

Funds raised from the two concerts in February will also go to United Way for New York City, a 70 year old organisation aimed at supporting New York’s low-income residents.   In a city which has the largest poverty gap in the Unites States and where 30 percent of children live in poverty, the organisation seeks to work with all members of the New York community to develop communal resources and help end poverty.