At a time when many small personal schools and traditionally black schools/universities (HBCU) are combating for survival, one church’s act of kindness shines for instance of justice, hope, and the enduring significance of certainly one of North Carolina’s HBCUs. Saint Augustine’s College (SAU) is thrilled to announce a beneficiant present of $132,469 from Alfred Avenue Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia, to remove the excellent cumulative four-year pupil debt of 11 of 25 graduating seniors within the Class of 2025.
The donation – over $130,000 – might be obtained by SAU earlier than this 12 months’s graduation on Could third, making certain these seniors can graduate debt-free. In a stirring present of neighborhood partnership, representatives from the historic church will attend the HBCU graduation ceremony to have a good time with the scholars and personally congratulate the brand new graduates whose burdens they helped elevate.
“This act of grace by Alfred Avenue Baptist Church is nothing wanting transformative for our college students and our establishment,” mentioned SAU Interim President Dr. Marcus H. Burgess. “We’re immensely grateful for this demonstration of religion and partnership. It not solely lifts an amazing burden off our deserving college students but additionally evokes our complete SAU neighborhood. This donation is a shining instance of how religion and collaboration can empower our college students to step confidently into their futures. It renews our hope and underscores the intense future for SAU.”
Scholar debt has develop into a looming barrier to school completion throughout the nation. HBCUs – which have traditionally created pathways for underrepresented college students – typically function with restricted assets. The partnership between Alfred Avenue Baptist Church and SAU demonstrates a artistic, community-driven answer to those challenges that resonates far past one campus, providing a blueprint of hope for others to comply with.
The HBCU initially knowledgeable all the graduating class that college students with unpaid tuition balances couldn’t take part within the graduation ceremony. Whereas greater than half of SAU’s graduating class might settle their balances independently with help from a few of SAU’s alumni chapters, 11 others nonetheless wanted further help. Refusing to lose hope, these college students penned heartfelt letters detailing their monetary struggles and expressing gratitude for help. These letters of want and thanks might be shared in the course of the Could graduation, symbolizing religion in motion and the profound influence of compassion. Moved by the scholars’ tales – and alerted by SAU alumni and church members within the Washington, D.C. space – Alfred Avenue Baptist Church answered the decision. The 222-year-old congregation, identified for its dedication to training and social justice, provided to cowl the excellent balances for the remaining 11 seniors, permitting them to obtain their diplomas with out monetary obstacles.
“That is what ministry seems like,” mentioned Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, Senior Pastor of Alfred Avenue Baptist Church. “We consider in investing in college students, in HBCUs, and in a future the place monetary hardship ought to by no means be a barrier to commencement.”
This extraordinary collaboration highlights a legacy of faith-based help and alumni engagement that has lengthy been a part of SAU’s story. Alfred Avenue Baptist Church, based in 1803, is without doubt one of the nation’s oldest and largest predominantly African American congregations. Church officers estimate that about 60% of Alfred Avenue’s roughly 13,000 members are HBCU graduates. The church is famend for its neighborhood outreach and philanthropy, together with an annual HBCU School Pageant that attracts hundreds of scholars, and has a powerful monitor file supporting HBCUs. In 2019, Alfred Avenue made nationwide headlines by elevating $150,000 in a single weekend and paying off the account balances of 34 graduating seniors at Howard College whereas contributing $50,000 to help Bennett School. That very same spirit of “irrational generosity” and dedication to academic justice now blesses SAU’s college students.
Within the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) space, SAU’s alumni, Gilbert, ’76, and Carolyn Knowles, ’77, nurtured the bond between SAU and Alfred Avenue. Generations of Saint Augustine’s College alumni within the DMV – together with Alfred Avenue Baptist Church members collaborating in SAU’s WDC Metro Alumni Chapter – have traditionally been steadfast college supporters. The advocacy of the Knowles’ for over a 12 months helped convey this chance to fruition. Alfred Avenue’s mission-driven outreach exemplifies the facility of neighborhood partnership throughout geography and generations. It’s a testomony to the concept SAU’s legacy extends far past its Raleigh campus, uniting religion and fellowship in service of the subsequent era.
“There may be an African proverb that claims, ‘When elephants combat, it’s the grass that suffers,’” mentioned Gilbert Knowles. “For us, it’s at all times been concerning the college students. When my spouse and I found that our church, Alfred Avenue, accepted the donation and the quantity they might give to SAU, we cried tears of pleasure out of affection for our church and our alma mater. Regardless of the college’s challenges, these college students selected to stay with SAU, remained steadfast, and are about to graduate, including to the various causes SAU is called the ‘Miracle on Oakwood.’ We’ll attend commencement, and I do know it will likely be an emotional ceremony.”
The timing of this present comes as Saint Augustine’s College is amid a resurgence. In recent times, the HBCU has confronted well-publicized challenges which have examined the college’s resolve. But, by these trials, SAU’s management, college students, and alumni have labored tirelessly to revive confidence and chart a course ahead. This donation arrives at a pivotal second in that journey, serving as a hopeful counter-narrative to the headlines of the previous. It underscores SAU’s resilience and the religion the broader neighborhood has in its future. For the broader public, this story sends a robust message: even within the face of adversity, collective acts of generosity and religion can spark change, help establishments that matter, and uplift younger individuals poised to develop into future leaders.
“After I realized that Alfred Avenue Baptist Church’s beneficiant donation had cleared my steadiness, I used to be overwhelmed with gratitude and deeply moved by their dedication to supporting college students like me,” mentioned Saint Augustine’s College SGA President Tillia Leary, a graduating senior majoring in accounting from The Bahamas. “This unimaginable act of kindness lifted a significant burden and affirmed my perception within the energy of neighborhood and religion. I’ll attend Ball State College to finish my grasp’s diploma in accounting and have additionally been honored to obtain quite a few scholarships to help my graduate research.”
SAU is asking on others moved by this inspirational occasion to assist help the remaining college students who nonetheless carry pupil debt. Whereas this present clears balances for 11 seniors, many different SAU college students face monetary hurdles on their path to commencement, totaling roughly $230,000. Anybody concerned about serving to empower further SAU college students can contribute to the college’s pupil aid funds or scholarship applications.
Click on right here to donate or be taught how one can straight influence college students’ lives and contribute to SAU’s continued story of resilience and achievement.
