Meek Mill is set to donate over 6,000 backpacks to school students in Philadelphia.
The rapper, 31, who was released from prison earlier this year after serving five months of a two to four year sentence for violating the terms of his parole stemming from a drug and weapons conviction in 2008, has joined forces with Puma, sports apparel Fanatics, United Legwear and Philadelphia’s luxury store Milano Di Rogue to deliver the important school supplies to students in the city.
Meek’s charitable deed will see the creation of three types of backpacks for elementary kids, middle school students, and high school students and each will be packed with other supplies to hook them up just before school starts again in the coming weeks.
According to TMZ, the younger children will get sharpeners, rulers, glue sticks and crayons in their bags, whilst the high schoolers’ kits include dry erase markers, notebooks and pens.
The ‘‘Dangerous’’ hitmaker, who was born in Philadelphia, says he knows how much families can struggle when it comes to funding school supplies, which prompted him to give back to his community.
He told TMZ, “Those memories stay with me and that’s why I’m committed to giving back to families in my hometown, putting smiles on kids’ faces and helping them start the school year on the right note with the right supplies.”
The publication also reports Meek is even planning on hand-delivering some of the backpacks to students around the city on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018.
The good deed comes after the rapper stepped down from attending the Prison Reform Summit held by President Donald Trump in May, because he believed his presence may have “taken away” from the importance of the meeting.
He said at the time: “I was originally scheduled to be part of a panel on Prison Reform at the White House to help shed light on the issues within the system. Unfortunately, the focus turned to the President and myself which concerned me that it might take away from creating a positive result from today’s discussions.
“As a result, I decided not to attend so that the focus would be solely on fixing our prison system. Most importantly I remain fully committed to improving our criminal justice system.”
