More than 20 high school seniors in Georgia will be awarded with scholarship money thanks to an initiative by actor Gail Bean.
In the midst of her acting career on shows like Snowfall and Harlem, 33-year-old Bean founded the nonprofit Dream Above The Influence to support young people, including with the foundation’s All Of My Love Scholarship for future college students in Atlanta, Georgia, where Bean was raised.
After more than 400 students applied for the award, the organization announced last week that Bean is awarding scholarships worth $1,913 to 22 high school seniors in the metro Atlanta area.
“I’m a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; hence we have a saying, all of my love, my peace and happiness,” Bean said to CBS Atlanta about her sorority at Howard University. “So, that’s ‘All Of My Love scholarship.’ The 22 because Delta was founded by 22 founders. The amount, $1,913, that each scholar gets is the year Delta was founded.”
Bean also announced that this year, the cast and crew of The Drop — an upcoming FX spinoff of Snowfall that Bean stars in — pitched in to fund two extra students to get scholarships.
“Major thank you to The Drop FX for contributing to our future dreamers, believers, and achievers!” DATI said in the announcement.
This is the fourth year that the All Of My Love scholarship has been awarded.
The applicants were required to submit transcripts, eight hours of community service, a letter of recommendation and a video speaking about their biggest dream in order to be considered for the award.
DATI Creative Director Teante Huff told CBS, “The kids are so bright, and they almost make you feel like you’re not doing enough in life.”
“To show them that we care about their journeys and that we’re supporting them is just awesome,’ she said. “What makes me smile the most is community, and how we know the kids by their first name. They’re all doing phenomenal, and to see tomorrow’s kids doing the things that they’re doing now, it’s just very meaningful.”
While the pilot program was launched in Atlanta, DATI provides programs to other major U.S. cities including Washington, D.C.
It comes as college costs have soared in the past 40 years, with a small group of American universities crossing the $100,000 price tag for a single year of undergraduate classes.