High school senior Sir Darius Brown has been advocating for shelter pets since his pre-teen years. And now the impact he’s made has earned him a tuition-free college education.
Sir Darius, who attends The Pennington School in New Jersey, was named a recipient of the prestigious Gates Scholarship. The award, funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a “highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding, minority, high school seniors from low-income households,” according to The Gates Scholarship website.
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There were more than 48,000 scholarship applicants nationwide, but just 750 recipients.
“Becoming a Gates Scholar is an incredible honor and a powerful opportunity,” Sir Darius said in a written statement. “It’s about more than just me — it’s about paying it forward and honoring my family and everyone who believed in me.”
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Sir Darius was accepted to 31 schools and received more than $1 million in combined institutional scholarships, a release said. The Newark, New Jersey, native, who has around 125,000 Instagram followers, announced on social media Thursday that he would be attending Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta.
Sir Darius’ mission of helping shelter pets began when he was 10 years old. After hearing about dogs who had been displaced by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, he started hand-crafting bow ties for rescue animals to wear, hoping the accessory would make them stand out and improve their chances of adoption.
Sir Darius later launched his own company, Beaux & Paws, to sell the bow ties. And for every bow tie that’s purchased, the company donates one to a shelter animal. “Bow ties help all pets look dapper and adorable. And for shelter pets, this helps them get seen and adopted by their fur-ever family,” his website reads.
Along with donating thousands of bow ties, Beaux & Paws has raised more than $500,000 for shelters, a release said.
“I’m committed to using this platform to inspire the next generation to pursue education, overcome challenges, and use their gifts to create positive change, and to amplify my mission advocating for shelter pets,” Sir Darius said.
Sir Darius is also a former Clear The Shelters ambassador. Clear The Shelters is NBCUniversal Local’s annual pet adoption and donation campaign that celebrated its 10th anniversary last year.
Clear The Shelters will be running its 11th campaign later this year, with more details to come.
For more information on Clear The Shelters, including participating animal shelters and rescues, along with details on local events, visit ClearTheShelters.com and the Spanish-language site DesocuparlosAlbergues.com. Follow Clear The Shelters on social media:
