Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the Jazz Chisholm Foundation held a ribbon cutting to unveil a new computer lab at Community School 55, also known as Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, in Morrisania.
In 2023, Chisholm established the Chisholm Jazz Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission of providing meaningful opportunities to young athletes and their families from high-need communities in Florida and the Bahamas.
Chisholm explained that giving back to the community was important to him because he wanted young people to have access to opportunities that he didn’t have growing up.
“For me, it was always about giving back to the future. I grew up in public school and I’m a neighborhood kid who didn’t really have as many opportunities as others,” Chisholm said.
“I want to be able to give kids every opportunity I can.”
This was his fourth visit to CS 55, and he has fostered a close bond with the students.
“Giving back gives me a special feeling, especially in the places I come from — the Bahamas, where my great-grandfather was born, and Florida, where my dad lives. I really love it. I love coming and seeing the kids smile,” he added.
The new computer lab was funded with proceeds from his foundation’s Tunnel Fits and Kicks 2025 fashion event, which raised more than $200,000 to support youth in New York, Florida and the Bahamas.
Chisholm said he wants to expand his foundation’s reach to more schools and young people, organizing similar events that encourage and support them in their dreams.
“I feel like we’re getting bigger and bigger, and it’s not going to stop here. We started very small, just in the Bahamas and Florida, and now we’ve expanded to New York,” he added.
His goal is for the foundation’s efforts to continue reaching more schools in New York, Florida and the Bahamas, building on his family’s roots in these communities. Chisholm is originally from the Bahamas, his great-grandfather lived in Brooklyn and his father resides in Florida.
In the lab, students will have access to 25 touchscreen laptops, an interactive display for collaborative learning, a PlayStation 5 console, and a simulator for after-school activities and clubs.
This renovated space will also allow students to take state exams, engage in hands-on learning, foster creativity, and strengthen their academic success.
In recognition of having perfect attendance all year, each participating student in room 501 also received a new pair of Jordan sneakers.
Lissandra Perozo, an 11-year-old fifth-grade student, was one of the first to tour the new space.
“My thoughts were, ‘Oh my God, this is really happening and it’s thanks to a celebrity…’ This could benefit my future because I could become a gamer or a YouTuber,” Perozo said.
According to Luis Torres, long-time director of CS 55, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and his foundation have built an excellent relationship with the school through constant communication and commitment.
The computer lab was built in three months. Its existence fills a “major gap” within the school.
“We’re going to make video games, all kinds of things — programming from the lab — and we even have flight simulators that we use to teach kids how to fly airplanes,” Torres said. “For our school, we are in a good position technologically.”
