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<p><a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/lil-durk-says-ex-fiancee-india-royale-has-him-in-a-headlock-amid-rapper-baby-mama-tweets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lil Durk</a> has announced the development of the Durk Banks Endowment Fund in collaboration with Amazon Music. Additionally, the rapper is providing two students from Chicago with $50,000 scholarships to attend Howard University.</p>
<figure id="attachment_119324" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-119324" style="width: 1140px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-full wp-image-119324" src="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_5634-1.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="718" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-119324" class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: Courtesy of Durk Banks Endowment Fund</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_119326" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-119326" style="width: 1140px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-full wp-image-119326" src="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/photo-output-1.jpg" alt="" width="1140" height="750" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-119326" class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: Courtesy of Durk Banks Endowment Fund</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_119327" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-119327" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="wp-image-119327 size-large" src="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/photo-output-2.jpg?w=1024" alt="" width="1024" height="660" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-119327" class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: Courtesy of Durk Banks Endowment Fund</figcaption></figure>
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<p>The first two recipients of this scholarship will be announced today during Lil Durk&#8217;s performance at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CqqhQgspZt1/?img_index=1">Howard University&#8217;s 2023 Springfest</a>.</p>
<p>The two students were selected from 20 participating in his Neighborhood Heroes HBCU College &; Career Readiness Cohort Program.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Lil Durk Gives A $250,000 Donation to Howard&#8217;s GRACE Grant</h3>
<p>In addition to the two individual $50,000 scholarships, Lil Durk will also donate $250,000 to Howard&#8217;s GRACE Grant, a program created to help students needing tuition assistance, <a href="https://thedig.howard.edu/all-stories/howard-university-receives-second-10-million-gift-karsh-family-foundation-support-grace-grant">according to the University</a>.</p>
<p>The grant was established in 2014 by President Frederick. Furthermore, the funding was intended to target students with the greatest financial need who wanted to stay in school and graduate with their class.</p>
<p>Since the inception of the GRACE Grant, recipients have seen a 15% increase in retention and a four-year graduation rate of 78% — a 32% increase compared to those who did not receive the funds from this program.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Lil Durk Continues To Give Back Through His Neighborhood Heroes Foundation</h3>
<p>Lil Durk is not a stranger to giving back and holding it down for his community! In 2022, <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/lil-durk-launches-non-profit-organization-focusing-on-career-readiness-hbcu-college-tours/?_gl=1*1qlcif2*_up*MQ..*_ga*OTM1NjQyMi4xNjgxNDkxNzEw*_ga_V2HX8YP3XL*MTY4MTQ5MTcwOC4xLjEuMTY4MTQ5MTcyMC4wLjAuMA..">he announced the launch of his Career Readiness program</a> through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation. The goal was to change the lives of 20 students.</p>
<p>Through this program, students were given the opportunity to go on an HBCU college tour. Furthermore, they were also able to visit various institutions in Atlanta and Alabama. Furthermore, a few of them were invited to New York City to meet executives from Sony, Alamo Records, and the New York Knicks where they were able to shadow seasoned professionals.</p>
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<p>One of the students, Semaje Vaughn, gave Durk his flowers. Vaughn said he didn&#8217;t have hope for his future until this program.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I didn’t believe in anything, but being able to have opportunities like this is a big uprise from where I used to be.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Lil Durk &; The Neighborhood Heroes Give Almost 30,000 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer to Inmates &; Staff In Illinois</h3>
<p>If that&#8217;s not enough, Lil Durk even had his foundation partner with <a href="https://chicagovotes.com/">Chicago Votes</a>. The two entities distributed 29,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), as previously reported by <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/lil-durks-non-profit-organization-distributes-29000-bottles-of-hand-sanitizer-to-inmates-staff-in-illinois-prisons-amid-lack-of-access-to-clean-water/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Shade Room</a>. The distribution assisted inmates and facility workers in keeping their hands clean as COVID-19 rates resurged.</p>
<p>Additionally, it was revealed that the issue had been going on for months after a report came out about an acute water crisis inside one of Illinois&#8217; largest prisons.</p>
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<p>If you know Durk, you know that giving back is in his blood, from being on the frontlines feeding Chicago&#8217;s essential workers during COVID to providing back-to-school supplies to elementary school children. He is definitely a valued voice of this generation.</p>
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