Proof there’s still good in the world presented itself when an anonymous donor gave $3 million to the newly formed Charleston scholarship fund.
The criteria of the scholarship have yet to be established by it will be overseen by Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr, Dr., Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and William M. Lewis Jr. a Wall Street exec. via New York Times
Anonymous donors have given more than $3 million to establish a scholarship fund for people affiliated with the church in Charleston, S.C., where nine people were killed last month, the city said Thursday.
The fund, announced 15 days after the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, is among the largest expressions of support for the congregation since the shooting, which the authorities have described as a racially motivated hate crime.
“We certainly have evil, and the worst kind of evil visited that church two weeks and some hours ago,” Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said in an interview before a news conference in the church’s sanctuary, where he announced the fund’s creation. “But the response is entirely the opposite. It’s pure goodness and generosity. It’s big hearts and loving people responding, and it’s absolutely wonderful.”
The city said that the scholarships would pay for undergraduate and advanced degrees for “members of the extended” church community, including family members of the victims. The fund carries the name of the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the church’s senior pastor, who was among the nine killed on June 17.
In a statement released by the city, the donors said they named the scholarship for Mr. Pinckney because he “so profoundly embodied the values that bind us together as Americans.”
H/T Geeks and Cleats