John Walt Foundation

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Oak Park, IL
John Walt Foundation

The John Walt Foundation is a Nonprofit Organization, formed after the tragic death of Water Long Jr.

Nonprofit Organization, formed after the tragic death of coming hip-hop artist "John Walt", “ The foundation provides opportunities and support for Chicago's youth with interest in the arts.

501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization Walter was an up and coming hip-hop artist who was better known as, "John Walt", in the city of Chicago. During his career, John Walt wanted to use his ambition and creativity t

o make others happy with his music. Walt's drive to live out his dream while spreading positivity with his art is what inspired the start of this foundation, which support inner-city artists working towards that same goal.

04/11/2026

SUMMER APPRENTICESHIP APPLICATION NOW OPEN‼️🚨☀️

Are you a Chicago creative 16-24 years old looking to grow your artistic platform, and make money? Our summer apprenticeship helps you learn more about yourself through a series of paid trainings around artist development, networking, leadership, and more!

👀 Interested? Apply!

⏰ Deadline is April 26th!

✍🏽 Link in our bio or visit bit.ly/jwfsummer26

Share with a friend!

04/09/2026

WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR APPRENTICES!!✨🤞🏾🔥

Last night, we supported our very own and .in__ at . They did an INCREDIBLE job curating and executing this show✨

Not only did we see those two, but we saw a host of our other apprentices perform as well! Shoutout to , , , , and .xxll who handled management! Honorable mention to who produced a song for Young(In)’s set as well🔥We can’t forget to give a shoutout to all of our other apprentices and scholarship recipients who were supporting in the audience!

It really speaks to the community that they dedicated themselves to building while in our program. We are overjoyed to be part of this journey with you all. Make sure to support our young artists! 🤞🏾🥳

03/13/2026

🚨‼️NEW PROGRAM ALERT‼️🚨

Introducing.. The Creator’s Lab: Studio Edition ✨✍🏽🎙️

This is our new studio program curated by our very own, ! Program will include:
💡Guided discussions
✍🏽Creative prompts
🎧Hands-on studio sessions

Workshops will inspire new ways of creating, refine your skills, and connect you with new artists! Artists and producers will work alongside one another throughout the five weeks to share ideas, experiment in the studio, and contribute to each other’s creative process. ✨

We are only selecting a small cohort of six creatives: three recording artists and three producers, so make sure to submit your best work!

More details can be found in the application, which can be found in our bio. Share with your friends! ✨🔥

‼️ APPLICATIONS DUE BY SUNDAY, MARCH 22ND @ 11:59PM ‼️

02/18/2026

JWF fam, if you are available tomorrow evening, join us for the series launch of “Another Night at BET” , curated by our teaching artists Bernard “B” Lilly Jr. Congrats on your artist residency, B. We’ll be there! & we are giving away 5 free tickets to giveaway!

12/25/2025

Happy Holidays, family! ✨

Today, we want to highlight another the last of our very own who hit the stage at John Walt Day⭐️

Moyana is no stranger to JWF✨She was a scholarship recipient in 2023, and is also on the board! This past summer, she was a featured performer on our Chicago’s Got Next stage at Lollapalooza. Also, Moyana now serves on the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy!

Lastly, we would like to shoutout our host S-O-S! She was a scholarship recipient back in 2019, she’s taught our summer apprenticeship for the last 3 years, helped to launch Amp’d Up, our new open mic series, and now serves as an assistant to the org. ✨

Let’s show some love! 🙌🏾✨🎧

12/18/2025

Happy Thursday, family! ✨

Today, we want to highlight two more of our very own who hit the stage at John Walt Day⭐️

Mike DFG has been involved with us in so many ways, and he’s a west side native! Mike was a featured performer on our Lollapalooza stage this summer. In 2024, he was an apprentice in our summer program and also received our JWF scholarship!

The Third is no stranger to us either. He has been a committed member of our family since 2019 after being a scholarship recipient. He has performed at and hosted many of our events over the years! He now proudly serves on our board.

Let’s show some love to our JWF artists! 🙌🏾✨🎧

12/11/2025

ITS WALT WEDNESDAY! ✨

Today, we want to highlight two of our very own who hit the stage at John Walt Day⭐️

Snacks Pivot is family here at JWF. He started rapping at just 3 years old, is the youngest member of Pivot Gang, and actually made his debut performance at the first ever John Walt Day in 2017!

Snacks has performed at various JWF events including being a guest performer at Navy Pier this past summer. We are so proud of his growth!

Zia Jenaye is a rising star from the Southside of Chicago✨ She has been heavily involved with the foundation over the years. Zia has been a first place winner of TIP Fest, been on our Lollapalooza stage TWICE, and she was a 2024 recipient of our scholarship! She continues to amaze us every time she hits the stage. 🎤

Let’s show some love to our JWF artists! 🙌🏾✨🎧

12/03/2025

JOHN WALT DAY 2025✨

It’s Walt Wednesday, so of course we had to drop the recap from the show! Thank you all so much for coming out to support. Your energy meant everything. It was incredible show from beginning to end.✨

Shoutout to our John Walt Foundation artists who opened the show! 🎵 🎤

Thank you to our hostess with the mostest 🌻

Big shoutout to and for such incredible performances and bringing the city together for this beautiful night🫶🏾We can’t wait for that new music to drop! 👀

Till next time!

🎥: //

11/20/2025

✨ Pull Up This Saturday! ✨

We’ll be at (aka Spill the Beans) on this Saturday, Nov. 22nd for Coffee with at this amazing Black-owned gem on the West Side of Chicago! ☕💙

When you slide through, don’t forget to bring an item to support people in need this winter — new or gently used coats, hats, gloves, sox and scarves. Let’s take care of our community together. 🧤🧣🧥

While you’re there, grab something off their 🔥menu 😋

And if you need to grab your John Walt Day 🎫, we got you.

Plus, Saba will have some merch on deck!

Pull up, show love, support local, and stay warm.
See y’all there! ✨💙✨

11/14/2025

Check out johnwaltfoundation’s video.

11/13/2025

Counting down the days! 🙌

Catch the at for John Walt Day November 28! 💙💚Can’t wait to see everybody there!

Address

PO Box 803
Oak Park, IL
60303

Website

http://www.johnwaltfoundation.org/

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