I had the wonderful opportunity to attend TI’s AKOO Clothing Line Brunch, AKOO Stands for ‘A King of Oneself!’ The event was full of celebrities that included: TI, Tiny, Toya, Nelly, Activist and Civil Rights leader Andrew Young, Heavy D, Kevin Lyles, Young Jeezy and so many more. Unlike many of the other media outlets and guests in attendance our main focus of course was giving back and we wanted to know what was next for this community giver?
While we didn’t get to speak directly with the self-proclaimed King of the South himself, we did get the opportunity to speak with his manager and co-founder of Grand Hustle, Jason Getter.
“Many don’t know this but T.I has always and will always be there for the community,” said Getter.
And that is a very true statement, in 2010 T.I teamed with Charline Mack in Philadelphia to co-host the Charlie Mack Party 4 Peace Celebrity Weekend to promote peace through the streets where a certain Fresh Prince once roamed. In 2008 T.I raised more than $100,000 and held Atlanta’s biggest Thanksgiving dinner at Turner Field.
In 2008 Tiny and T.I. spearheaded the development of FOR THE LOVE OF OUR FATHER’S, a national nonprofit organization, to help find a cure and improve the quality of care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and their families, so that organizations from coast-to-coast could speak as one voice to advocate for optimal care and to enhance local support services.
Earlier this year even though he was locked behind bars rapper T.I. found a way to do something positive for the families of 14 fellow inmates. The Grand Hustle CEO sponsored a bus trip dubbed “To See A Love One,” allowing 46 family members who would not have been able to afford the trip otherwise, allowing them to see their loved ones over the Memorial Day weekend.
“I’ve been blessed to receive tons and tons of mail from my fans, family and friends, as well as get visits on a regular basis. Unfortunately some guys aren’t as fortunate,” T.I. told MTV via a statement. “There are a lot of good dudes in here that haven’t been able to see there loved ones in years. Their families can’t afford the trip so I wanted to help out.”
When I asked Jason Getter, who comes up with all of the charity ideas in the Grand Hustle camp? He replied “TIP, he just cares a lot about others.”
We salute the king and welcome him home!
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