Pinky Cole—the owner of Atlanta-based vegan restaurant Slutty Vegan—is helping pay the tuition balances of 30 Clark Atlanta University (CAU) students in an effort to help them stay in school. Cole, who is a CAU alum herself, was inspired to help the students after she donated money earlier this week to help Khalil Perry, a junior studying mass communications at CAU, who started a GoFundMe campaign because he was struggling to pay his tuition and was ready to drop out. “I’ve been in that situation trying to figure out how you’re gonna pay for school and if it weren’t for me becoming Miss Clark Atlanta University, I might not have been able to graduate,” Cole told media outlet 11 Alive. In partnership with another entrepreneur and fellow CAU alum, Stacey Lee, Cole is arranging to pay for the 30 students’ remaining balances. This is not the first time Cole used her platform to help those in need. Earlier this year, Cole spearheaded a widespread effort to raise money for funeral expenses for Alabama teen Nigel Shelby, who died by suicide after being incessantly bullied by schoolmates for being gay. Cole launched to fame with her popular Slutty Vegan brand as a food truck in August 2018 and quickly attracted a large following, with customers waiting up to five hours in line to be “sluttified” by tasting Cole’s Caribbean-inspired burgers such as the Fussy Hussy, Dancehall Queen, and One Night Stand. In January, Cole opened the first brick-and-mortar location of Slutty Vegan with a second and third planned for the coming year.
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