Yasmine Duhé
Mary J. Blige significantly impacts education by establishing a groundbreaking scholarship for women at Hampton University. Named "Strength Of A Woman," this scholarship is exclusively for college sophomores and aims to empower women to pursue higher education. In a partnership with PepsiCo, the scholarship program has already gathered a remarkable $200,000 in donations, with Hampton University being the first recipient.
Mary J. Blige x PepsiCo
The “Strength Of A Woman” Scholarship, created by Mary J. Blige in collaboration with PepsiCo, aims to empower and uplift undergraduate women at Hampton University.
This remarkable initiative will be administered by Scholarship America, focusing on providing financial support to women who are enrolled sophomores at Hampton University or have plans to enroll full-time in the 2024-2025 academic year.
How To Qualify
In order to qualify for the scholarship, applicants must self-identify as female and possess a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Additionally, the scholarship is open to those pursuing a degree in specific fields such as Business Administration, Marketing, Arts, Finance, or Creative Design.
However, students with parents employed by PepsiCo are ineligible for consideration, along with employees at PepsiCo. There will be only one selected recipient who will be awarded a substantial amount of $30,000.
Applicants applying for the “Strength Of A Woman” Scholarship must submit their applications by October 16, 2023, at 3 PM CT.
Updated By: Yasmine Duhé (10/6/23 at 5:22 pm)
Mary J. Blige Partners With Pepsi To Gift Scholarship To HBCU Student
Mary J. Blige and Pepsi are teaming up to present the inaugural PepsiCo x Mary J. Blige Strength of a Woman Scholarship, which will give $200,000 to a lucky Historically Black College or University (HBCU) student. The scholarship is part of Pepsi’s return as a co-presenter at Mary J. Blige’s upcoming “Strength of a Woman” Festival and Summit in Atlanta, GA.
Pepsi and Mary J. Blige are coming together to impact the education of HBCU students positively. The scholarship donation of $200,000 will be given to an HBCU student who meets the scholarship criteria.
Pepsi’s involvement with Mary J. Blige’s festival and summit shows its support and commitment to uplifting the Black community. In fact, the festival will feature food from Black-owned restaurants and female entrepreneurs.
Besides the Pepsi scholarship partnership, Mary J. Blige continues to make big moves as she gears up to executive produce Lifetime movies based on two of her hit songs.
Other Celebrities Offering Scholarships To Students
Mary J. Blige and Pepsi’s scholarship partnership is not the first time celebrities have partnered with companies to provide scholarships to HBCU students. These initiatives help to uplift and support the education of Black students.
In 2021, Jay-Z and Beyoncé donated $2 million to a scholarship program for HBCU students. The scholarship program, the BeyGOOD Initiative, was created to celebrate the “Homecoming Scholars Award Program,” launched by Queen Bey herself in 2018.
In addition, DJ Khaled is also among other artists who have also offered scholarships to lucky a student. He announced his partnership with We The Best Music Group and charity organization Get Schooled to give scholarships to a lucky student at Brooklyn’s Long Island University (LIU).
Updated by Chris Samuel (5/4/2023)
Mary J. Blige & Pepsi Announce Second Annual Strength Of A Woman Festival & Summit Dates
Mary J. Blige and Pepsi announced the second annual Strength Of A Woman festival. The upcoming event will include an all-star lineup with artists such as Busta Rhymes, Summer Walker, and more.
Mary J. Blige alongside soft drink company Pepsi announced the dates for the Strength Of A Woman festival and summit for May 11-14 in Atlanta.
The lineup for the event includes the likes of Summer Walker, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Lucky Daye, and more.
The “Just Fine” artist shared her excitement about producing the second event:
“I’m so excited to bring our Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit back to Atlanta for its second year,” Blige said. “Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire, and build amongst a community of women is the reason why we created this festival.
“I’m so grateful for all of the support from our performers and participants,” she continued. “and of course Live Nation, Urban, Pepsi, and our additional partners who are committed to celebrating and creating a community for Black women.”
Nicole Jackson, the Vice President of MJB Inc. said,
“The popularity and impact of the inaugural Strength of a Woman festival & summit successfully showed how and why Black women are the blueprint for cultural relevance and inclusion.”
Mary J. Blige also released her own wine company Sun Goddess and was featured in SOHH’s Women’s History Month celebration series.
Mary J Blige Show “The Wine Down”
Mary J. Blige has already premiered two episodes of her new show The Wine Down, on BET Networks which first aired on March 1. The show will include celebrity guests including Taraji P. Henson and Yung Miami of the City Girls.
