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 Hip-hop vet P. Miller (formerly known as Master P) and his son Romeo have joined forces with Wal-Mart for support of Living The Dream telethon, focusing on the uplifting of the community in Memphis.
Organized by community and social activists, Ladell Beamon and Percy Townes, the Living The Dream telethon was created to help bring awareness to crime, poverty, and the lack of education for minority kids in the inner city of Memphis.
Beamon reached out to his celebrity friends and corporate America hoping to shed some light on the increasing numbers of young deaths in its city, due to ongoing gangs, drugs and violence crimes. P. Miller was there to answer the call.
"This event changed my life, it made me realize that we must focus on the youth to make real change," said P. "And if we are to stop the violence in our communities, we must replace the guns with books. It's time to educate our kids, get them off of the streets and give them some place to go.
"With all the community work that I've already done in my own hometown of New Orleans, this event made me realize that there is so much more work that needs to be done," he continued.
According to the organization, numbers are a direct reflection -- on both local and national scales -- that jails are built in the expectance of its cells becoming occupied soon. And, to combat this money maker, they plan to encourage kids to take a different path before crime influences them.
So far, P. Miller and Romeo donated $50,000 to the cause, while Wal-Mart donated $10,000.
"This is only the beginning. Hopefully, more celebrities, athletes, and corporations will join the movement," P. Miller says. "A friend of mine told me that if you want to make a difference, all you have to do is 'Show up'. Our goal is to heal the hood by promoting peace and educating our community to decrease poverty and crime."
So far, with $60,000 raised, Living The Dream and P hope to take their local telethon national.
For more information, to get involved, or donate, visit LivingTheDream1.org.
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