Nine-time Grammy winner John Legend has made a $30,000 donation to the Soulsville Charter School in Memphis through the singer's Show Me Campaign program.

In a statement about his contribution, the singer said the Soulsville Foundation is using the legacy of Stax Records to change the lives of young people by offering "valuable and unique education opportunities."

A private practice room in the adjacent Stax Music Academy that the charter school students also use has been named after Legend, who founded the Show Me Campaign in 2007 to break the cycle of poverty. Legend also visited the Soulsville Charter School shortly after it was founded in 2005 with a class of 60 sixth-graders.

He performed for them and explained how he'd grown up with his share of economic difficulty. Soulsville Foundation spokesman Tim Sampson said the children listened in awe that day and left inspired by how success can transcend circumstance.