His purple badness is spreading money and musical genius while on tour. Prince made a $250,000 donation to a Columbia, S.C., nonprofit — the Eau Claire Promise Zone. Prince’s drummer, John Blackwell Jr., made the presentation to Eau Claire Promise Zone officials. Blackwell is a Columbia, S.C., native.
Prince and the New Power Generation performed shows in Columbia, Charleston and Greenville last month.
The Eau Claire Promise Zone is part of the nationwide “Promise Neighborhoods” movement. Modeled after the work of famed educator Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone, the Eau Claire Promise Zone covers a 12-neighborhood region, notably Eau Claire High School and its feeder schools: Arden, Hyatt Park, and John P. Thomas elementary schools, and Alcorn and Gibbes middle schools. Eau Claire Promise Zone provides community-wide parenting education, kindergarten-readiness initiatives, rigorous K-12 preparation, in-school and out-of-school, engagement opportunities, college assistance, support services for families, strong neighborhood associations, and community infrastructure. –annsonita robinson
