Cardi B put her star power to work this weekend as she showed up for two community events hosted in New York. On Friday (Sept. 9), the “Bodak Yellow” rapper was spotted lending her star power to a back to school event at Queensbridge Houses in Queens.

Cardi was there to share messages of hope and to encourage the youth to chase their dreams even when resources may be hard to come by. While speaking with students involved in the Community Capacity Development organization’s music program, she said, “I’m not the one to tell people just follow your dreams because it’s not easy. You need money and resources, and you almost need a hookup, but you never know when you will find a hookup.”

The non-profit organization teaches marginalized communities about building wealth and entrepreneurship; provides mental health resources; and much more. The Queensbridge housing project is in one of the city’s most underserved communities. Ryan Burvick, of Community Capacity Development, shared that having the artist pour into the youth was a reminder for them to dream big. “They need these examples to show there’s more opportunities,” he told WNEW-TV.

The Grammy Award-winning artist rose through the ranks of superstardom with the help of social media, a big personality that landed her on “Love & Hip Hop: New York,” and, of course, her music career that took off in 2018. Cardi also joined Community Capacity Development for a second event, where she spoke about the significance of human justice work at the Howard Houses in Brooklyn.

The organization’s founder K. Bain added, “I think a lot of times young people are attracted to survival. When you don’t have employment opportunities, when you don’t have adequate resources in education, when you see nothing but closed doors, crime and violence becomes an option. Having someone like Cardi come back and say I want to be in human justice work, it’s a real inspiration.”

Check out some of the videos and photos from the events below.