Grammy-winning artist John Legend has partnered with payment platform Bilt for its October Rent Day initiative, helping 50 college students cover their off-campus housing costs.
Giving Back
The students attend four universities personally selected by Legend: Morehouse College, Central State University, Wilberforce University and the University of Pennsylvania, his alma mater.
The partnership is being carried out with Scholarship America through a rent assistance program designed to help students at risk of eviction. Scholarship America is considered the largest national nonprofit scholarship and educational support administrator in the United States.
For Legend, the effort is personal. While attending Penn, he lived on campus during his freshman year before moving off campus for his final three years. He worked multiple jobs to help cover his expenses, including a work-study position and a job at a church.
“I was hustling, and I was doing it so I could pay my rent,” Legend recalled in a press release. “I know what it feels like to be in that position where you’ve got to figure out how to do it yourself,” he said.
Legend, who has an estimated net worth of $100 million, has described his college experience as foundational to the life and career he built after graduation.
“Education has always been such an important thing for me,” he said. “I know what it meant for me to be able to go to college and get a great education; it set me up for life.”
The partnership gives Bilt members additional ways to support students. Beginning on Rent Day, members can donate their Bilt Points to Scholarship America, with 100% of donated points going to the organization.
The housing initiative coincides with the Oct. 23 release of Legend’s 11th studio album, “Muse,” which Pharrell Williams co-wrote and produced. Bilt members can preorder an exclusive edition of the record and enter a drawing to attend a private Legend performance in San Francisco.
Awesome work for students.