Earlier in March, Chicago native Chance the Rapper met with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to discuss the Chicago Public School system. Although the meeting didn’t go as well as Chance would have liked, he walked away from it with one mission in mind: to give back to students in need.
Just a day after meeting with Rauner, Chance made a $1 million donation to the struggling school system.
And now some students who will hopefully benefit from the donation have penned a letter of thanks. Students from Lake View High School—Alex Rojas, Alondra Cerros and Annelisse Betancourt—published an open letter in Billboard magazine to Chance:
As we all know, CPS has been struggling financially, and your donation has really given us a push to get to where we need to be and possibly motivate others to give back to the community as well. This is only one of the many things that you have done to improve our Chicago.
There are many big celebrities from Chicago, but you are one of the few that really give back. It is evident that you sincerely care for the youth here. This is why you are an inspiration to us. We appreciate you for not only representing us through your music, but also through your actions.
We thank you for supporting Chicago’s minority youth when not many others have put time to think about the kids. As minority students we feel ignored and as though we don’t have enough support from bigger influences like you. Being born and raised in Chicago is not easy at all. There are so many stereotypes and restrictions we have as teenagers due to the frequent violence and crimes. Your music puts some at ease because we know that someone cares and someone has experienced these daily struggles too.
Chance tweeted his response to the letter and stated, “I appreciate you guys, and you’ll be happy to know the work has only just started. Huge things to come over the next 2 weeks.”