Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms celebrated equality and education Monday night, raising more than $30,000 for the Mayor’s Youth Scholarship Program at the second annual Black Pride Reception ahead of the upcoming Atlanta Black Pride Weekend, according to a press release.
“Atlanta is the LGBTQ capital of the South and the mecca for the Black LGBTQ community,” said Mayor Bottoms to the group of attendees gathered outside of Downtown Atlanta’s Georgia Freight Depot. “Over the last four years, our Administration has prioritized the needs of this community.”
As part of the City’s VaxUpATL initiative, event partner Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health provided free doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on site.
Event sponsors Gilead Sciences, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and the Coca Cola Company presented the Mayor with checks totaling $30,000. Those gifts, plus funds donated by guests at the reception, will benefit the Mayor’s Youth Scholarship Program, which supports college-bound graduates of Atlanta Public Schools.
This year, students seeking scholarships were able to voluntarily declare how they identify on their applications. As a result, LGBTQ- identifying students will be the primary beneficiaries of funds raised from the event.
For the upcoming 2021 school year, nearly $500,000 in scholarships have been awarded to Atlanta students representing 36 universities and 13 high schools in the Atlanta Public School system. MYSP helps deserving students with college expenses so that financial hardship is not a barrier for students seeking higher education. Over the last decade, the program has supported 875 students from Atlanta high schools.
Information on the Mayor’s Youth Scholarship Program: https://www.myspatl.org/.