We love artists who give back!
Rapper Ludacris surprised a group of students in Miami with over $75,000 worth of musical instruments, WSVN reports.
The rapper/actor, real name Chris Bridges, spent his pre-Super Bowl time giving back to hundreds of students at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School. Bridges’ Luda Cares Foundation partnered with live event ticket distributor StubHub and Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF) to donate the instruments. The program started in 2015, with StubHub and MHOF dedicating millions of dollars in instruments to Title 1 schools with strong music programs. Since Ludacris’ foundation is already very active in giving back to kids in Atlanta, they thought he would be the perfect partner to join forces with.
“I have to pay it forward, man. I always have to lead by example. I always say, with great power comes great responsibility, and I literally just landed [in Miami] about an hour ago, and this is the first place that I came to,” Bridges told reporters.
Ludacris walked out on stage to screams from the hundreds in attendance. Students were already excited to see him, but even more excited once they learned of the gift he came to deliver.
“I’m ecstatic. I have honestly no emotions. I can’t even put it into words. I’m just so excited, so grateful, so blessed. It means so much to the program, so that we can expand, so we can grow, so we can do more, so I’m really, really happy about it all,” one student named Michelle said.
“Speechless. That is insane. I was sitting in the crowd. Completely caught me off guard,” another student named Gabriel added.
Kevin Segura, the school’s band director, said, “This means, you know, that we’re actually going to have music education here at HMI. You know, because of budget cuts, we don’t have the instruments that we need for all the kids.”
“You can feel the energy. You can feel how much love there is in this room, not only for their band director and their band teacher, but surprising them and giving them $75,000 worth of equipment, which is obviously something great to boost confidence. It feels phenomenal. It feels great,” Bridges said.
Bridges brought along his mother who heads up the Ludacris Foundation in Atlanta. The two also surprised Segura with two tickets to the Super Bowl.
“It’s a very happy day for us,” Segura said.
Thanks for setting the example Ludacris! We need more like you!
Photo Courtesy of Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com