Kevin Hart teamed up with the United Negro College Fund and KIPP Public schools, a nationwide network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory schools in underserved communities, to provide $600,000 in scholarships to 18 qualifying students attending historically black colleges and universities. On Monday, the comedian surprised the recipients at an event in Los Angeles.

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KIPP and the Philadelphia native’s Help From The Hart Charity each donated $300,000 toward the scholarship fund. The students are attending 11 colleges including Tuskegee University, Xavier University, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. The young scholars are from eight different cities, and Hart was proud to mention eight of them hail from his hometown.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Night School star said, “Education and knowledge are powerful. I just wanted to do my part in providing opportunities for our future leaders, especially from my Philly hometown, and show support for HBCUs. This is just the beginning: trust me when I tell you there are a lot more kids who want to go to college who don’t have the money to make it happen.”

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Hart donated $100,000 to the fund in 2015. He becomes the latest celebrity including Beyoncé to help students attend HBCUs through a scholarship program.