Friends Band Together To Help Newark Students Pay For College

NEWARK, NJ — A “scholarship ride” is raising money to help two deserving Newark students pay for their educations at Howard University.

The HBCU Scholarship Ride was born in August 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic when a group of friends came together to make a bicycle journey from Newark to Howard University in Washington D.C.

The ride – made in support of an incoming freshman who was having trouble paying for tuition – ended up raising $6,500 for her education, according to Hassan Abdus-Sabur, who huffed and puffed through four states and “unforgiving highways” along with his buddies.

Now, they’re looking to keep the good karma flowing.

“The HBCU Scholarship Ride has been established to financially assist students from Newark in realizing their aspirations of attending Howard University,” Abdus-Sabur told Patch. “In acknowledging the unique challenges these students face, the HBCU Scholarship Ride acts as a bridge, filling in the gap between a deserving student’s desire for educational excellence and their ability to pay for that experience.”

This year the goal has been set higher, with the goal of raising $25,000 to be split between two graduating seniors in Newark. The 2021 scholarship recipients, Janae Tucker and Kyle Washington, are honor students who attended East Orange Stem Academy and Seton Hall Prep respectively.

The 2021 ride is set to leave from Essex County College at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 27, with the riders planning to chronicle their journey via social media along the way. The ride will end at the entrance gate of Howard University on Sunday, Aug. 29, followed by a finish line celebration on “The Yard” of Howard University.

Organizers have launched a GoFundMe campaign to fuel this year’s scholarship effort. People can support the ride or make a donation here.

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