Robert F. Smith’s Student Freedom Initiative is working to ensure more minority college students are able to cross the stage despite their financial background.

Robert F. Smith is backing yet another initiative that aims to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The billionaire and his non-profit, Student Freedom Initiative, has teamed up with Prudential Financial to financially assist HBCU students, according to Black News. The new program, powered by the collaborative effort, is named Handling Everyday Life Problems for Students (HELPS). “Student Freedom Initiative applauds the leadership of Prudential Financial and their support for our shared mission of eliminating barriers of access for underserved communities,” Smith said. “By enabling the launch of the HELPS Program, a vital component of our work is to address the holistic needs of HBCU students and families, Prudential’s gift will provide long-needed and often overlooked aid and support persistence of those most vulnerable in our community.” Under the three-year pilot program, Prudential Financial is awarding $1.8 million in micro-grants to HBCU students “to...