A new scholarship fund in the name of the late Thelma D. Burns will launch on Oct. 11 with a ‘Boston’s Got Talent’ fundraiser in Jamaica Plain. Burns, a long-time community leader and civil rights activist who served as the METCO liaison for the Belmont School District, passed away in 2022.

The effort is being spearheaded by Mattapan’s Ihorma Breneus and Roxbury’s Canitra Wynn, who were among the hundreds of young people from Dorchester and Mattapan who benefitted from Mrs. Burns’s mentorship.

“We want to do something to capture that energy and create future leaders,” said Breneus. “We want to be able to work with these kids moving forward. We want to serve them like Mrs. Burns, who filled me up in high school. I want to put that fire into someone else like she did for me.”

The scholarship will use the talent show, which is being emceed by City Councillor Julia Mejia and held in Jamaica Plain’s Spontaneous Celebrations Hall at 45 Danforth St. to raise money in hopes of making the first awards to the Class of 2025 next spring. The event, which will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., has curated 10 performers in grades 8-12 and there will be five judges awarding cash prizes for first, second, and third places. Entry tickets will be $10 for students and $20 for adults, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.

Talent so far includes vocalists, rappers, dancers, comedians, DJ’s, instrumentalists, and fashion designers. The show’s concept was important to the scholarship committee and to the memory of Mrs. Burns, who founded the first Step Team in Belmont.

“We competed at different Boston schools and the city was always excited for it and we looked forward to it,” Breneus recalled. “Everything we did back then was prepare to get to those shows. We wanted to bring that back to the city and get these kids excited about their craft. We want to bring that back to the forefront.”