The importance of giving back to the community is the primary focus of LudaDay Weekend, and this year, Ludacris has made a commitment to highlighting local charities that support the city of Atlanta including; Frank Ski Kids Foundation, Inc., Keshia Knight Pulliam’s Kamp Kizzy, Antoine “Big Boi” Patton’s Big Kidz Foundation, Josh Powell’s 21 Reasons Foundation, Get Schooled.org, Do Something, Ryan Cameron Foundation, and the Boys & Girls Club of Atlanta.
LudaDay Weekend has executed several community initiatives in year’s past including; inviting hundreds of youth to a complimentary Braves baseball game at Turner Field, giveaway of 20 new cars to underprivileged families, donations to Mayor Kasim Reed’s Centers for Hope, donations to Morehouse College.
LudaDay Weekend has also partnered with the local organization, Charles McCree Presents: Project Walk A Mile In My Shoes, to collect donations of new and slightly used shoes and sneakers to be collected at the Ludacris (Team Luda) vs. Kevin Hart (Team Hart) Celebrity Basketball Game on Sunday, September 2nd, at Morehouse Forbes Arena. The collected shoes will be donated to the following Atlanta-based organizations; Hosea Feed The Hungry, ENBA CAMP & YouthTakeBack, and My Sister’s House women’s shelter for abused women. Since its inception in 2008, Project Walk A Mile in My Shoes has collected over 7,000 pairs of shoes for several organizations including The Boys & Girls Club, It’s Cool To Be Smart, My Sister’s House and Hosea Feed the Hungry . For more information on Project Walk A Mile In My Shoes visit http://projectwalkamileinmyshoes.tumblr.com
Ludacris chose charities and non-profits like JP 21. I met Josh at a charity event at Park Tavern hosted by Chanita Foster. I saw him at media appreciation at Frank Ski’s restaurant and we just talked, just the two of us. Actions certainly speak louder than words, his humility a rarity for people of his status. Our conversation just came natural and he wasn’t selling me on Josh Powell we were just sharing our stories with each other. JP 21 was at Dobbs Elementary and Josh played in the charity basketball game. I can say the same for Frank Ski. We had a conversation about spirituality, our likes and dislikes, and the spirit and innate benevolence is uniform with all the non profits. The Boy’s and Girls Club does so much for the community. Their college bound program rewarded $1.8 million dollars to one college student last year along with five $5,000 scholarships awarded by Taco Bell. Ludacris chose that share similar feelings as well as genuine foundations for giving back and it showed again this year with an outstanding performance by two teams that did it for the community.
As always Kevin Hart stole the show with dancing, jokes, and just being Kevin Hart. Team Hart was down at halftime when he made a half time speech that jump started his players. The event attracted some of the biggest entertainers as attendees; Diamond (Crime Mobb) Kerri Hilson, Rasheeda, (Love and Hip Hop Atlanta) Keisha Knight Pulliam, Mamma Dee, Akon, and Lorenz Tate. It was funny because Love Jones was on the night before. Kevin took the microphone for the second part of the game and talked away! Before the game started Ludacris was giving away t-shirts and Sony head phones to kids in the crowd. They picked four kids to dance and allowed the crowd to pick the winner, but we had a special guest appearance in Kevin Hart when he took the center stage and started dancing. BCG was in the middle of the action taking photos via Keenyn Majors.
September 2 is Luda Day in the city of Atlanta after Mr. Bridges accepted a plaque from the President of City Council. The event was for the city of Atlanta and was open to the public for $10. The event also brings revenue to the city because all the players for team Hart and Luda were in town for three to four days plus people from the south east region that have heard of Luda Day weekend. Hotels were sold out and Atlanta turned into a tourist city this past weekend. As much as contributing means a lot we also need to find avenues to provide income in tough economic times and this event did just that.
Photo’s by Keenyn Majors and Prime Focus
Thanks to all the students and staff members (security, APD, parking attendants, janitorial staff). Media appreciation was really fun at Frank Ski’s, we should all thank Luda for the complimentary food and beverages. The weekend was fun and given the opportunity I would recommend the basketball to friends and family as it was truly a family event. Most importantly we hope that all the proceeds do their work and improve the lives of those individuals in need of such assistance.
