According to Forbes, 2 Chainz conquered Christmas with his timely and super cute “Dabbin’ Santa” sweaters. While the rapper has been toying with merchandising ideas for years, he finally found a hit when “the dab” (a dance) found its way into primetime courtesy of NFL star Cam Newton.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySilAPr6fW4&w=560&h=315]
“I don’t want people to think this was an overnight success. We’ve been trying with a bunch of designs for a couple years now. This is just timing meets opportunity,” he explained. “There’s the whole dab thing, and Atlanta’s always been somewhere that actually moves the culture a little bit. We have been the backbone of hip-hop for the past couple years. So with dabbing coming out of Atlanta, it just began to grow legs and start moving on its own.”
The sweaters became wildly popular and grossed around $2 million in revenues for 2 Chainz and his team. Instead of spending the profits on frivolous things, the Atlanta native decided to help others.
“I had a numerous amount of celebrities helping with the shirt. It was on the NFL, it was on TNT, it was on Good Morning America, it’s on ESPN. So I could not continue receiving those blessings without giving back at the end of the day,” he said.
A large slice of the profits went into 2 Chainz’s T.R.U. Foundation, which is “dedicated to promoting balanced, respectful and enriched relationships and aim to create life changing moments and help build a positive outcome for our young generation.”
Because of the “Dabbin’ Santa” craze 2 Chainz’s organization was able to pay the rent for one family for an entire year, and donate a minivan to another. The move not only benefitted the families in need, but also helped 2 Chainz as well.
“For us, it’s about putting it together independently, with nobody really being the boss. We’re creating our own way to give back, to do something for people,” he told Forbes. “We’ll trickle down to the kids and lead by example. Like I say, actions speak louder than words. We could have spent this money on possessions, but giving a family that needs it will actually go further for them and for me.”
article via clutchmagonline.com
New York State has taken a step in the right direction when it comes to eliminating student loan debt. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the “Get On Your Feet” program, which will offer up to two years of federal student loan debt relief to recent college students in the state.
The Strategic Hiring Opportunity Program actually began in 2013 and to date 26 faculty members from underrepresented minority groups have been hired. Recently, the provost’s office allocated a new $4 million fund to hire a cluster of faculty members in urban studies. Funds will be provided for each of the six new faculty members in this cluster for a graduate fellow and an undergraduate research assistant.
Quentin Love, a Chicago chef and restaurateur, is a man who lives up to his name. After winning big last week on the Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games Veterans Holiday Showdown,” Love donated half of his winnings to help feed the hungry in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park Neighborhood, WGN News reports.
In Chicago, 1 out of 3 people go hungry each day. On Chicago’s West Side where Love owns and operates Turkey Chop Gourmet Grill he offers a much needed solution. Every Monday between 1 and 3 p.m. Turkey Chop converts into a soup kitchen, serving free meals to people in need.
Since partnering with the Chicago Food Depository in 2014, Turkey chop has provided meals to more than 52,000 residents, many from the West Humboldt Park community – an area with a high rate of diabetes, heart disease and other food-related illnesses.
“With all of the negative things being said right now about Chicago, men in the community need to step up and take responsibility,” said Love in an interview with DNAinfo. “When you give someone a good meal, to show them love, you could be stopping them on the way to do something to hurt themselves or somebody else.”
Love, a veteran in Operation Desert Storm, represented the U.S. Marine Corps on the Food Network competition, winning $36,000 with the help of his grandmother’s macaroni and cheese recipe and a sea bass in vodka sauce.
Chef Love will donate $18,000 toward his restaurant’s soup kitchen initiative (which is part of his nonprofit, Love Foundation) and the other $18,000 to the United Service Organization to help military families in Illinois.
article by Sandria M. Washington via blackamericaweb.com
