NEW YORK – Bobbi Brown finished her Christmas shopping early this year. Rather than send magazine editors cashmere wraps and pricey handbags, as is common practice in the beauty industry, Brown decided that this year, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics would funnel its holiday gifts budget into a college scholarship for a deserving Bronx high school senior.
Last October, the makeup artist presented Millessa Seepersaud, a senior at Jane Addams Vocational High School, with a partial scholarship to Columbia University. Brown would not stipulate the amount of the scholarship. Brown has been affiliated with the Bronx school since 2001, when she volunteered to be “principal for a day,” after some persuading from designer Norma Kamali.
In the hopes that editors would share in the company’s gesture, Brown sent each of them a DVD explaining the scholarship she founded with the Jane Addams school.
In the video, Seepersaud wept as she explained Columbia was her first choice, given that her mom – who had two small children at the time – had once received a full scholarship, but could not afford to live in the dormitory, as the university required.
To select the scholarship recipient, Brown enlisted the help of her public relations staff and her children. Together, they combed through essays submitted by Jane Addams seniors. Seepersaud’s essay was unanimously chosen as the winner.
“To me, there is no greater gift than education,” said Brown, who is spending the holidays at her home in Telluride, Colo. “I’d much rather make a big difference in someone’s life than a small difference in many people’s lives.”
Nevertheless, Brown has been consistently donating to the school in more modest ways. Each year, she stands in as principal for a day. She has also revamped Jane Addams’ cosmetology program, donating discontinued makeup and recruiting executives in each area of the Bobbi Brown business as guest speakers. Several years ago, Brown was so taken with a Jane Addams student named Waltaya Culmer that she put her through basic makeup artist training. Soon after, Culmer landed a job at Bloomingdale’s SoHo and is now part of the Bobbi Brown Cosmetics education team in Atlanta.
As for how editors have responded to the scholarship in lieu of gifts, Brown joked that some may be grumbling, but several have already called to thank her, expressing their full support.