Several Howard University students had their student balances paid off Tuesday after a local church donated $100,000 to the university.
Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, chose to be a blessing this month by erasing the debt of 34 full-time students who demonstrated genuine financial need and held a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. The money went to seniors with balances of $100 to over $3,000, preventing them from graduating on time.
“It’s been a significant issue for 60 percent of our student graduate population. In the past, it’s actually been a factor that stopped students from graduating,” Howard University President Wayne Frederick tells DCist.
The school has seen more success recently when asking alumni and businesses to donate, according to Frederick. “Within the last four years, we’ve had donations of $8-10 million within a year. Last year, we received the biggest amount of $20 million in donations.”
The students received an email from the Office of Financial Aid with “special financial aid opportunity” bolded in the subject line. They were instructed to report to the Interdisciplinary Research Building on campus to learn more. Students like Inestin Dante Petit-Hommes had no idea what awaited them.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “I thought it was just an opportunity to obtain more info on how to obtain money or apply for scholarships, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this.”
Petit-Hommes, a graduating senior at the university, is glad to have his $3,500 burden lifted from his shoulders.
“It was a huge burden because I also live off campus. So I had to think about rent and transportation. I have to pay for my cap and gown and transportation and accommodations for family and friends coming for my graduation in May. So, it was hard to try to pay for everything else and still have this balance hanging over me.”
As part of a 30-day fast, “SEEK 2019”, Alfred Street Baptist Church urged their congregation’s members to abstain from social media and unnecessary purchases along with limiting their consumption of food. In the end, the church would donate the money the 4,000 parishioners saved to a deserving cause.
Home to one of the oldest African American congregations in the country, about 60 percent of ASBC’s church goers attended an HBCU. So, safe to say, the church has a sense of dedication to preserving the legacy of historically black colleges.
“I thought, ‘What better way to celebrate Black History Month than investing in the young, black heroes of HBCUs?’” Rev. Marc Lavarin, told the Washington Post.
The church also donated the remaining $50,000 to North Carolina’s Bennett College, one of the last remaining women-only HBCUs. The school recently orchestrated a major crowdfunding campaign to raise funds necessary to keep their accreditation.
Because of the donation, Petit-Hommes says he can focus more on his post graduation plans which means planning his move to southern California.
“My ultimate passion is working with talent—being the talent, working with talent, or being behind the scenes as a director or talent agent,” he says. “I’m working to one day become an entertainment entrepreneur.”
