21 Savage’s Issa Again To College Drive To Return to Atlanta
On August 3, 2025, Grammy-winning rapper 21 Savage and his Main By Instance Basis will host the ninth Annual Issa Again To College Drive at South DeKalb Mall in Decatur, Georgia. The occasion runs from 1 PM to 4 PM and gives free college provides, backpacks, sneakers, meals, haircuts, and braids to kids and households getting ready for the college yr.
What began as a small neighborhood outreach occasion has grow to be some of the impactful and constant back-to-school initiatives within the Atlanta metro space. For practically a decade, 21 Savage has proven his deep dedication to youth improvement, training, and empowerment in his hometown.
Constructing Up Atlanta’s Youth, One Backpack at a Time
The Issa Again To College Drive is greater than a charitable giveaway—it’s a community-powered occasion designed to uplift college students each bodily and mentally as they put together to enter a brand new educational yr.
The annual drive displays 21 Savage’s private journey. Born in London however raised in Decatur, he skilled firsthand the challenges that many underserved households face. By returning every year to help kids from the identical neighborhoods that helped elevate him, he’s giving again in a method that’s rooted in authenticity.
What Households Can Count on on August 3
This yr’s occasion guarantees a variety of important companies and items. All the pieces is free, and no registration is required. Right here’s what attendees can count on:
- Backpacks full of college provides equivalent to notebooks, folders, pencils, pens, and calculators
- Model-new sneakers for college students of all ages
- Free haircuts for boys and free braiding companies for women
- Meals and refreshments, with meals vehicles and volunteers providing scorching meals, snacks, and drinks
- Interactive stations, together with video games, giveaways, and leisure for youthful kids
- Neighborhood sources, equivalent to data on monetary literacy, native applications, and well being companies
Households usually start lining up hours earlier than the occasion begins. The vitality is festive, with music, dancing, and a shared sense of pleasure and appreciation.
A Rising Legacy of Giving Again
For the reason that first Issa Again To College Drive practically a decade in the past, the occasion has grown steadily every year in scope and influence. Lately, attendance has soared to a number of thousand college students and oldsters.
Every annual occasion gives not solely materials help however emotional and motivational encouragement. In 2024, the county formally acknowledged 21 Savage’s contributions by declaring August 4 as “21 Savage Main By Instance Day.” This proclamation solidified the drive’s significance inside the neighborhood and highlighted the artist’s sustained involvement in civic service.
Supporting Extra Than the First Day of College
Whereas college provides and haircuts are key elements, the Issa Again To College Drive has all the time aimed to supply extra than simply the fundamentals. A significant purpose is to empower youth past the classroom, with a robust give attention to monetary literacy and lifelong studying.
By the Main By Instance Basis, 21 Savage launched a number of initiatives geared toward constructing monetary confidence amongst younger individuals, particularly these from underserved communities.
In 2025, the muse launched the Financial institution Account Monetary Literacy Week in partnership with native colleges. This system included hands-on workshops the place college students discovered about budgeting, financial savings, credit score, and how one can open and handle a checking account. These classes are designed to organize college students for real-world monetary challenges they’ll face in maturity.
Evergreen Ideas for Dad and mom and College students
To assist households lengthen the teachings from the occasion into on a regular basis life, listed here are a couple of evergreen suggestions that folks and caregivers can use to encourage instructional success and monetary wellness year-round:
1. Discuss Overtly About Cash
Begin age-appropriate conversations about spending, saving, and budgeting. Train children to grasp the worth of a greenback early.
2. Create a Mini Finances Collectively
Work together with your baby to create a fundamental price range utilizing allowance or present cash. This helps develop accountability and prioritization.
3. Set up Monetary Targets
Assist children set short-term targets like saving for a toy or long-term targets like a college journey. This teaches endurance and planning.
4. Use On a regular basis Actions as Classes
Journeys to the grocery retailer or paying payments on-line can grow to be studying moments about comparability purchasing, value checking, or invoice administration.
5. Construct a Homework Routine
Set a constant time and area for homework every day. Consistency helps focus and educational progress.
These small habits, when practiced constantly, may help kids develop into financially accountable and goal-oriented adults.
Consistency Builds Neighborhood Belief
What units the Issa Again To College Drive aside is its consistency and community-first method. Reasonably than a one-off publicity occasion, the drive is a part of a long-term technique to elevate the lives of Atlanta youth.
Dad and mom know they will depend on this annual occasion. College students develop up attending it yr after yr. The occasion turns into a part of their story—a constructive affiliation with the beginning of the college yr.
Volunteers additionally play a giant position in creating this expertise. Many are native lecturers, enterprise homeowners, barbers, stylists, and even former college students who as soon as benefited from the drive. This full-circle impact creates a stronger, extra interconnected neighborhood.
The Energy of Native Management and Lengthy-Time period Imaginative and prescient
Whereas celebrities usually give again to causes throughout the globe, 21 Savage has remained laser-focused on the place that raised him. He doesn’t simply donate funds; he exhibits up in particular person, speaks with households, and listens to the wants of his neighborhood.
This sort of grounded philanthropy sends a message to children: “You matter, and also you’re not forgotten.” It additionally conjures up different artists, leaders, and on a regular basis individuals to become involved and provides again in their very own methods.
From college provides to voter registration cubicles and monetary toolkits, the Issa Again To College Drive represents a holistic funding sooner or later.
Lasting Affect: Why This Occasion Issues 12 months After 12 months
The back-to-school season might be financially annoying for a lot of households. The prices of backpacks, sneakers, clothes, and provides add up rapidly—particularly for households with a number of kids.
21 Savage’s occasion straight relieves that burden. However extra importantly, it gives hope. It exhibits younger those who success doesn’t have to return at the price of forgetting your roots. It reminds households that the neighborhood is stronger when it stands collectively.
In a world that always focuses on headlines and hype, this occasion delivers substance. Its real-world influence is measurable not solely within the variety of backpacks handed out, however within the sense of dignity, pleasure, and optimism it instills.
As Atlanta households gear up for the college yr, 21 Savage’s Issa Again To College Drive is greater than an occasion—it’s a motion. With a mission grounded in training, monetary literacy, and native love, this initiative continues to form futures and strengthen communities.
Whether or not you’re a mum or dad looking for college provides, a teen in search of inspiration, or a neighborhood member prepared to offer again, the drive gives one thing for everybody.
And so long as 21 Savage continues to guide by instance, Atlanta’s youth will know they’ve somebody of their nook—each August, and each step of the way in which.
