The Roots Create Foundation to Help Students at Philly’s High School of Creative and Performing Arts
A recent $1.1-million budget cut at the Philadelphia High School of Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) left the school void of 19 teachers and staff members since it was instated in 2012, plus the loss of a handful of clubs and extracurricular activities and, sadly, the school’s annual theater production.
So what’s a creative arts high school without all that?
That’s what The Roots band members—and CAPA alumni—Questlove and Black Thought asked when they found out about the cuts, and decided to create the CAPA Foundation. The initiative aims to raise $500,000 annually for the first five years, and then a whopping $1 million after that. The money will help students pay for books and classroom supplies, but will also restore some of aforementioned clubs and after-school activities, and renovate CAPA’s theater.
“I’m taking this as a state of emergency,” Questlove told The Times Herald. “[CAPA] cultivated us. It educated us. [Creating the foundation] is more than just pay-it-forward or celeb guilt. This is necessary. … It keeps you out of trouble. It helps develop your personality. If you take that away, you’re just a machine.”
Bravo, gentleman.
