Grammy-winning rapper Future has often taken it upon himself to give back to his local community in Atlanta. Among other things, his Freewishes Foundation has hosted a Christmas shopping spree, revamped his high school weight room, and launched a scholarship for college freshmen. His latest effort helps prepare students in ATL for a future in STEM.
The “BACK TO THE BASICS” emcee and the Freewishes Foundation teamed up to open a state-of-the-art STEM lab for Atlanta students. Here, local youth can attend interactive classes and be paired with mentors in the science, tech, engineering, arts, and math fields. In doing this, the charitable organization is working to expand access to areas of study that are often ignored in underserved areas. The lab is located at Bessie Branham Park in Kirkwood, where Future grew up. It has pledged to help support all students who strive to pursue STEM as a career.
“It’s important that all students receive access to STEM education regardless of their background,” the rapper said in a statement, per AfroTech. “Our Freewishes Foundation, with the support of the 2K Foundations, has helped make this possible in our Atlanta community. We’re thankful for their commitment to support our initiative.”
Tia Wilburn, Freewishes’ executive director and Future’s sister, echoed a similar sentiment. She also explained why the lab will teach various arts — often included in STEM as STEAM — in addition to science and number-heavy disciplines.
“We are creating a science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics lab as an extension of Freewishes’ educational initiative,” Wilburn said. “We wanted to add art because both Future and I support creativity.”
“Our objective in providing educational opportunities is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all students regardless of income and background,” she continued. “There is a major gap in STEM education that impacts marginalized communities, and we want to close that gap so that no child is left behind.”
The foundation gave a first look at the “I Am A Dreamer” S.T.E.A.M. Lab in a touching Instagram post, seen below. “Our soft opening was nothing short of amazing, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact that this will have on the community,” the caption read. “We’re so excited to be able to share our new sleek and innovative lab with the students of Atlanta. The kids in the Kirkwood area will now have the opportunity to receive access to S.T.E.A.M. education.”