On Friday February 27, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner had a meeting to announce major budget cuts in school funding. In response, on Wednesday March 1, Chance The Rapper announced that he will be donating $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools system.

The news conference was located at Westcott Elementary School, just a few blocks away from where he grew up. Bennett called this donation a “call to action.”

He said,  “I’m honored to make this donation to Chicago Public Schools Foundation and help cultivate Chicago’s creative minds, I’m committed to helping Chicago’s children have quality learning experiences that include the arts.”
Chance The Rapper, or Chancellor Johnathan Bennett was born April 16, 1993. A rapper, `singer, songwriter and record producer from the West Chatham neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. His younger brother, Taylor Bennett, is also an artist.

Bennett felt the need to donate this money is to support his hometown. Throughout the news conference he said,  “I’m frustrated and disappointed in the governor’s inaction, that will not stop me from doing all I can to support Chicago’s most valuable resource: its children”.

Governor Rauner tweeted in response , “@chancetherapper and I talked about the imp. of getting more money for all school children in Illinois, especially low-income children.”

This effort caught the attention of former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama tweeted, “@MichelleObama “Thanks @chancetherapper for giving back to the Chicago community, which gave us so much,” Obama wrote, “tagging the fellow Chicago native. You are an example of the power of arts education.”

Chance urged others to join fund-raising efforts through SocialWorks.com, a website that supports Chicago Public Schools, an organization he helped create, and target youth empowerment. For every $100,000 raised, the organization will award an additional $10,000 to a specific school.