Sean 'Diddy' Combs surprises students at Bronx Charter school
NEW YORK - It was a day some kids in the Bronx will never forget after the co-founder of their charter school Sean "Diddy" Combs, surprised them.
Tuesday's visit was the first since the rapper and entrepreneur donated $1 million to Capital Preparatory Bronx Charter School, which opened its doors for the fall 2020 school year during the height of COVID.
The Bronx location serves more than 200 underserved students in 6th through 9th grade, expanding a grade each year to accommodate 700 students.
"Here we are teaching y'all with intentions to go out and be leaders and go and make sure you don't have to live in a reality where you have to be special to be successful," said Combs.
The labor of love has been a dream for the Harlem native. Raising 4 million dollars running in the New York City Marathon to bring awareness to the public school system, Diddy says he didn't feel the impact of his donation, so he decided to start his own.
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"I think when it comes to kids, there's a lot of bureaucracy, but when it comes to the kids, the kids should come first. And instead of complaining about it, we wanted to do something about it."
The Bronx location is the third school for Combs and Dr. Steve Perry, founder of The Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, which the schools are all modeled after.
The school's mission is "To provide historically disadvantaged students with the college and career readiness skills needed to become responsible and engaged citizens for social justice.
Capital Prep has been delivering an impressive 100% college acceptance rate since 2006. Students are admitted by lottery to ensure equal access.
As far as music, the entertainment mogul says he and his son, King Combs, are making history on the charts with their song "Can't Stop, Won't Stop.," as "the first father and son to be in the 10." His new song "Gotta Move On" with Bryson Tiller racked up more than one million views in four days.
The Forbes 14th wealthiest entertainer says he is working on a new album. No word on a release date.