Hip hop heavyweight Ludacris and NFL star Jonas Jennis drove home the spirit of giving before hundreds of starry-eyed children during the highly-anticipated Coats for Christmas event in suburban Atlanta with the aid of General Motors and rolling out.
Some 300 hundred children poured into the Rhunette Lindsay Senior Complex and Jack Longino Senior Mid-Rise Building in College Park, Ga., and were treated to an abundance of winter wear, food, an OMG photo booth with Sasome assistance from Santa’s elves, Steed Media’s Soul Bread character and other life-sized Christmas characters.
This event marks the 10th anniversary of the Ludacris Foundation, which has provided great Christmases for tens of thousands of children all across the country. Even more importantly, these philanthropic gestures resonate with the children — and their parents — even more because Christopher Bridges and Jennings make their presence felt in the community throughout the year, not just during the holidays.
Since they are always giving back to their College Park hometown, it made perfect sense for the two stars to collaborate and leverage their platforms for the good of the community.
Jennings, who still looks like he can bury a quarterback underneath the football field, has been a part of these pre-holiday festivities for the past three years. “I have always believed that charity begins at home. This is where I grew up,” Jennings explained when asked about his choice to focus on the College Park community.
Ludacris, whose national reputation for giving nearly rivals his musical contributions, was gracious in his appreciation for the media contingent. “We appreciate you covering this event because it allows us to show others the positive things we’re doing in the community, which allows us to lead by example,” he said.
—terry shropshire
