Velma Jackson knows about opportunity.

The Atmore native who lives in New York City, recently gave a donation to the members of Escambia County High School’s choir that are going to be singing in a choir festival at Carnegie Hall in April.

Jackson is an ECHS graduate, and she was in town over the holidays visiting relatives.

“These are young people who seem to be on the right track in their lives,” she said. “They’re coming to New York, and living in New York and Manhattan, I wanted to see them succeed.”

Jackson said she donated to the group because she wants the members to see what sort of opportunities there are in the city.

“This will be a good opportunity for them to get away from Atmore and see there’s a great place out there for them,” she said.

In addition to the donation, Jackson — a retired CitiBank employee — is going to treat the choir to a meal at a restaurant in NYC.

What brought Jackson to New York after graduating from Alabama State University, was her love of the place.

“I knew this is the place I’d love to come to when I graduated from school,” she said.

Jackson has been retired for nine years, has written two books and just started a TV talk show called “Everyday Conversations with Velma and Arlyce.”