Usher funding grants for city kids

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Recording star Usher has since September given five $500 grants to New York youths to help them make differences in their neighborhoods.

The New York Daily News said the grants are part of Usher's non-profit New Look program, which has also helped kids in Atlanta, Detroit, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Los Angeles have a positive impact on their communities.

Usher reportedly gave $1 million to the grant project and plans to eventually bring it to all U.S. cities.

"It's a matter of putting the skills and the financial resources directly in their hands and letting them create change on their terms," the Daily News quoted the singer as saying.

Applications for grants can be submitted by those ages 12 to 20 at www.ushersnewlook.org. or www.poweredbyservice.org, the newspaper said.