Pharrell has gifted the entire graduating class of Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy a guaranteed internship.
"So let me be clear, every member of the 2019 graduating class, is guaranteed an internship waiting for them, you, next summer," Pharrell, who was the keynote speaker, told the graduating class while onstage at their graduation ceremony over the weekend. "It’s one thing to be 'woke,' another to be awake, leaned in, and engaged."A
All 114 graduating students of the two charter high schools, "all of whom have received offers to attend colleges and universities,"Buzzfeed Newsreports, are guaranteed an internship in Pharrell's network after their first year of college.
"In order for us to get our community, these children, and these families out of poverty, we want to make sure that they are connected to a livable wage,"Anne Williams-Isom, the CEO of Harlem Children's Zone toldBuzzfeed. "And we know that for so many of our young people, the way that they’re going to be able to do that is with that college degree in their hands, but also with some experience from very good internships that they will be able to do while they’re in college." She added, another goal of the program is to "end generational poverty."