The Roots are taking matters into their own hands to help the Philadelphia high school where they met. Thanks to $1.1 million in budget cuts, the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts has lost 19 teachers and staff members, has no funding for extracurricular activities and has closed the curtain on their annual theater production.
After learning about the slash in their alma mater’s budget, the hip-hop band decided to start the CAPA foundation to help the school recoup from their losses.
“It cultivated us. It educated us,” Questlove said about his former high school. “This is more than just pay it forward or celeb guilt. This is necessary. … It keeps you out of trouble. It helps develop your personality. If you take that away, you’re just a machine.”
CAPA will raise $500,00o every year for their first five years and then $1 million every year after that. The foundation will raise money for books, classroom supplies, the renovation of the school’s theater and to restore extracurricular activities and after-school programs.