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Lamar Taylor/Republic RecordsThe Weeknd is using some of his hard-earned cash for a great cause. The R&B singer-songwriter presented a check for $50,000 to the University of Toronto for the establishment of an Ethiopic Studies and Culture program.
The Weekend presented the hefty check during the Bikila Barefoot Challenge fundraiser event this past Saturday. He announced the news on Twitter, providing links for more information and an opportunity for fans to also donate.
“1 – sharing our brilliant and ancient history of Ethiopia. proud to support the studies in our home town through @UofT and @bikilaaward,” he writes.
The Weeknd, who received a Professional Excellence Award in 2014 from Toronto’s Bikila Award organization, was born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye and is of Ethiopian descent. His parents emigrated to Canada in the 1980s.
The Bikila Award organization and it’s president, Tessema Mulugeta, are very pleased with the The Weeknd’s financial support, and the opportunity that the University of Toronto has to offer an Ethiopic Studies and Culture program for interested students. “We are very encouraged by the recent generous donation of $50,000 by the renowned Grammy Awards winner, Artist Abel Tesfaye — The Weeknd, to this worthy cause,” the organization writes.
“This initiative is a rare opportunity and of historical significance in the discovery of Ethiopia’s ancient civilizations, for the preservation of our rich culture, history and traditions,” says Mulugeta.
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