May 21, 2021
Vans announced on Thursday a new partnership with NAACP, the nation’s preeminent social justice and civil rights organization, to
launch a scholarship program.
Dubbed the ‘NAACP Creative Sole Scholarship Powered by Vans,’ the scholarship program aims to support African American students by providing them with monetary aid for their college education to pursue creative careers across a variety of disciplines including art, music, journalism, marketing, design, communications, or architecture.
Opening Thursday and running through June 18, 50 students will be selected as recipients of the scholarship by N-SPIRE, a committee within NAACP, and will receive $5,000 to use towards their tuition fees. To further their support, Vans will award the selected students $5,000 each year that they are enrolled up until four years, which means one student could receive a total of $20,000.
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must be African American and a member of the NAACP, as well as currently enrolled full-time or accepted to an accredited college or university in the U.S. They must also be a graduating high school senior or undergraduate student, possess a grade point average of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 system and demonstrate interest in pursuing creative careers.
"Vans' commitment to tackle racism while ensuring diversity and inclusion become a mainstay across communities and industries is an essential step in the fight against institutional racism,” said Yumeka Rushing, chief strategy officer, NAACP. “We look forward to a sustained partnership that brings about change for the Black community."
The program in is in line with Vans commitment to uplift and drive equity, diversity and inclusion within its communities and industry.