Named in Honor of Charles Schulz' Iconic Character Franklin
Armstrong, the Endowments Will Include a Scholarship to Be Given
Annually—Starting with the 2022-2023 School Year—to One Student at Each School Studying Arts,
Communication, Animation, or Entertainment
The Armstrong Project Will Also Provide
Students with Mentorship and Internship Opportunities
in
the Fields of Animation and Entertainment
NEW
YORK, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Peanuts
Worldwide today announced the launch of "The Armstrong Project":
establishing $200,000 in endowments
at two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which
includes an annual scholarship to students studying either arts,
communications, animation, or entertainment. Each school will
receive $100,000 to establish
endowments.
The scholarship will first be awarded during the 2022-2023
school year at Howard University in
Washington, DC, and Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
As an enhanced scholarship program, The Armstrong Project will
also ensure mentorship and internship opportunities for the
students with individuals and companies in entertainment fields
such as animation, film, and television.
Cartoonist Robb Armstrong, a
longtime friend and colleague of Charles
Schulz and the inspiration for Franklin's last name (revealed in 1994), is a
member of the Board of Directors of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in
Santa Rosa, California, and has
been a consistent source of support throughout the creation of this
important program.
"I'm very excited for the young aspiring artists at these HBCUs
whose lives may be changed by Peanuts, just as my life was changed
by the inspiration and mentorship of Charles Schulz," Armstrong said. "Sparky was a
thoughtful and generous man who took seriously the hopes and dreams
of young people. It is my belief that he would be thrilled by the
potential of The Armstrong Project to help young people fulfill
their ambitions." Armstrong is the award-winning creator of
the beloved "JumpStart" comic strip.
The character of Franklin
emerged from a correspondence between Charles Schulz and a California schoolteacher named Harriet Glickman. Glickman wrote to Schulz after
the assassination of Martin Luther
King, suggesting that the introduction of Black characters
into the comic strip could help change the "vast sea of
misunderstanding, fear, hate and violence." After much
introspection and consideration, Schulz felt this was a step he
could take authentically and introduced Franklin in the summer of 1968, making history
in the process.
"It is incredibly moving to me that The Armstrong Project is
intended to create positive change in the lives of young black
animators and artists— just as the character of Franklin did so many years ago," said
Jean Schulz, widow of Charles Schulz.
"Thank you to Peanuts Worldwide for this opportunity that is
being afforded to Howard University
students studying arts and graphic design, said Denise
Saunders Thompson, Assistant Dean, Chadwick
A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. "The goal of our program is
to develop an immense range of knowledge, skills and competencies
in the area of visual communication through cross-curricular
experiences. We are grateful to our partners who help us to meet
the needs of the students in preparation for careers in the art
industry."
"Many thanks to Peanuts Worldwide for its investment
in Hampton University students and other HBCUs involved
in this initiative," said Hampton University
Chancellor & Provost, Dr. JoAnn
Haysbert. "The establishment of The Armstrong Project
endowment will ensure our talented and bright students
at Hampton studying the arts, communications, animation
or entertainment will continue to receive a world-class education
for life."
In related news, Franklin is
also the central character in a new original short video, "Speak
From the Heart," which debuted on February
8, 2022 on Peanuts.com. The video was created as part of the
Take Care with Peanuts initiative, which promotes good global
citizenship through three themes: Take care of yourself. Take care
of each other. Take care of the Earth. In the video, Franklin loses all of his Valentines thanks to
a strong gust of wind—but discovers that the Valentines' true value
comes not from the cards, but from his heartfelt messages to his
friends.
Media Contact
Melissa Menta, Peanuts
Worldwide
Melissa.menta@peanuts.com
(212) 293-8506
About Peanuts
The characters of Peanuts and related intellectual property are
owned by Peanuts Worldwide, which is 41% owned by WildBrain
Ltd. (TSX: WILD), 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment
(Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by the
family of Charles M. Schulz, who
first introduced the world to Peanuts in 1950, when the comic strip
debuted in seven newspapers. Since then, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of
the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on popular
culture. In addition to enjoying beloved Peanuts shows and specials
on Apple TV+, fans of all ages celebrate the Peanuts brand
worldwide through thousands of consumer products, as well as
amusement park attractions, cultural events, social media,
and comic strips available in all formats, from traditional to
digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered with NASA on a multi-year Space
Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for space exploration
and STEM among the next generation of students
About Howard University
Founded in 1867, Howard University
is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools
and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study
leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The
University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and
Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall
Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering
Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also
produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any
other university in the United
States. For more information on Howard
University, visit www.howard.edu.
About Hampton University
For more than 150 years, Hampton
University has been THE Standard of Excellence in higher
education. Founded in 1868 by Brig. Gen. Samuel Chapman Armstrong, Hampton University has a long successful history of
offering a strong academic program of educating the "head,
heart and hand" and emphasizing the development of
character. This foundation has been built upon by Dr.
William R. Harvey who has served as
Hampton's president for 44 years.
Under his leadership, the university has experienced accelerated
growth and achieved notable accomplishments. During Harvey's
presidency, 92 new programs have been introduced; 31 new structures
dot the landscape of the campus surrounded three sides by water,
and the university's endowment has grown from $29 million to $400
million and growing.
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SOURCE Peanuts Worldwide