Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the Jazz Chisholm Foundation hosted a ribbon cutting unveiling a new computer lab at Community School 55, also known as the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, in Morrisania.
In 2023, Chisholm established the Jazz Chisholm Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission of providing meaningful opportunities for young athletes and their families from high need communities in Florida and the Bahamas.
Chisholm said giving back to the community was important because he wanted the youth to have access to opportunities he didn’t have growing up.
“For me, it was always giving back to the future. I was raised in public school, and I’m a kid from the hood that didn’t really get as many opportunities as anybody else,” Chisholm said. “I want to be able to give kids all the opportunities that I can help with.”
This is his fourth visit to C.S. 55 and he has fostered a bond with the students.
“Giving back gives me a different feeling especially from the places that I’m from — the Bahamas, my great grandad’s from Brooklyn [and] my dad in Florida. I really love it. I love coming and seeing the kids smile,” Chisholm said.
The brand-new computer lab was funded by proceeds from his foundation’s 2025 Tunnel Fits and Kicks Fashion Event, which raised over $200,000 in support for youth in New York, Florida, and the Bahamas.
Chisholm said he wants to expand his foundation’s reach to more schools and young people by hosting similar events uplifting them and supporting their dreams.
“I just feel like we’re getting bigger and bigger, and it’s not going to stop here. We started off super small with just in the Bahamas and Florida, and now we’ve extended out to New York,” Chisholm added.
He hopes that his foundation’s efforts will continue to reach more schools in New York, Florida and the Bahamas, because of his family’s roots in these communities.
He’s originally from the Bahamas, his great-grandfather lived in Brooklyn, and his father lives in Florida.
In the lab, students will have access to 25 touchscreen laptops, an interactive display screen for collaborative learning, a PlayStation 5 console and a simulator for after-school activities and clubs.
This upgraded space will also allow students to take statewide exams, engage in on-hands learning while fostering creativity and supporting academic success.
Because of having perfect attendance all year, each participating student from class 501 also received a new pair of Jordan sneakers.
Fifth grader Lissandra Perozo, 11, was one of the first students who toured the new space.
“My thoughts were like oh my god, this actually really happening and it’s by a celebrity… And it might benefit my future because I might become a gamer or a YouTuber,” Perozo said.
According to Luis Torres, the longtime principal of C.S. 55, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and his foundation built a great working relationship with the school through constant communication and commitment.
The computer lab was built in three months. The existence of this computer lab fills a “major gap” within the school.
“We’re going to be doing gaming, we’re going to be doing all types of stuff — coding from the lab — and we even have flight simulators that we’re using to teach children how to fly planes,” Torres said. “For our school, we’re in a good place as far as technology.”
Reach Keke Grant-Floyd at keiwana.grantfloyd19@gmail.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
