Rapper Cardi B recently visited her middle school alma mater in New York and surprised the students with a $100,000 donation.

The Grammy-winning artist made the announcement to more than 100 students at I.S. 232, the Alexander Macomb School in Morris Heights in the Bronx. The $100,000 donation will go toward supporting after-school programs at the school, including tutoring, music and dance.

During the visit she gave an inspirational speech, explaining the positive impact the school had on her and encouraged the assembled students to work hard to achieve their dreams.

“A lot of the teachers were really tough on me because they saw something in me,” she said. “I was like a bad kid, but I was very special to a lot of these teachers, and I still got them in my heart.”

Cardi B was joined at the school by NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, who thanked the rapper for her generosity.

“We are thrilled to welcome Cardi B back home to IS 232 #InTheBronx, and we are so grateful for her generous contribution to her alma mater,” tweeted Banks. “Cardi B’s commitment of $100K for the arts will help the school’s kids soar to their highest heights. Thank you, Cardi!”

Barry Manilow Presents $20,000 Gift to Newark High School Program
Legendary singer Barry Manilow recently awarded East Side High School in Newark, N.J., a $20,000 donation to help boost the school’s music program.

Through the Manilow Music Project, a nationwide effort that empowers underfunded school music programs to provide quality music education by providing instruments, equipment, and scholarships, Manilow has donated more than $10 million to schools nationwide.

Before his recent concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, Manilow presented Thaddeus Exposé, a music teacher at East Side High, with $10,000 for the school, including a $5,000 personal cash award for Exposé, plus $5,000 in “Manilow bucks” to buy musical instruments for the school’s music program. The donation also included an additional $10,000 from the Prudential Center.

Exposé, who teaches band, which includes composition, arranging, music theory and music history, has been a music teacher for more than 25 years, including 17 years in Newark.

"A lot of our students have been playing on old instruments that are more than 15 years old,” said Exposé in an interview with online newspaper TAPinto.net. “Some of them are so old that they are unrepairable. Now with the $5,000 grant, I don't have to wait months or years to buy new instruments.”

Memphis School Receives $50,000 Donation
Schools in New York City and Newark were not the only schools to recently receive a donation.

Cummings K-8 Optional School in the Memphis-Shelby County School District recently received a $50,000 donation from a music entertainment business executive.

Julius Lewis, owner of Pure Entertainment Group and an alumnus of the school, donated the $50,000 to rebuild the band program, enhance the athletic department, and cultivate a rigorous science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program.

In addition to the $50,000 donation made by Lewis, school board chair Michelle McKissack pledged an additional $20,000 to the school.

“I am overjoyed by the outpouring of support,” said Cummings K-8 Optional School Principal Dwana McGuire. “These donations are helping us build a strong educational and extracurricular foundation for all students to thrive. We are constantly reminded that our community cares and believes in our children.”