Snoop Dogg Steps Up For Kids From The Inner-City
Snoop Dogg is pulling together some money for the Des Moines Inner City Urban Development youth football team.
Last week, Snoop Dogg launched a crowd-funding Tilt campaign in order to meet the goal of $20,000 that would go toward new helmets and gear for the team. Snoop then pledged $5,000 of his own money to a worthy cause.
Affordable youth recreation programs for inner-city children are scarce and rarely get the kind of funding they need, especially when families are already trying to save in order just to survive.
ICUD received an NFL Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) grant in 2005. That grant provided the football teams with 200 helmets and even more gear. However, they haven’t had the funding to replace or fortify that gear since. They are desperately in need of replacement and, if it doesn’t happen, the kids won’t be able to play.
Snoop Dogg announced his part in the fundraising through Twitter, telling his followers that “these kids need our help.”
these kids need our help to keep playin in the football league, help me get them new helmets n jerseys!! http://t.co/OLRnf0M7Mi
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) October 3, 2014
Snoop Dogg and the executive director of Urban Dreams, Wayne Ford, already had a connection before this issue came up.
Ford grew up in the inner-city of Washington, D.C., where he played football. Despite the trouble he got into, Ford was able to obtain a football scholarship and pull himself up to a successful level; something that might not have happened had he lost the chance to be part of a team.
“I was strong enough, lucky enough, blessed enough, that I went to college,” Ford said.
Ford and Snoop Dogg were in talks about bringing a Snoop Youth Football League to Des Moines when Ford was able to bring up to Snoop Dogg that the local league was having problems staying alive.
The fund-raising campaign Snoop Dogg started on Tilt is set for 20 days from start-up. If they meet their minimum, all new equipment will be able to be purchased for the ICUD teams.
Snoop Dogg seems to be all about football and kids these days.
Recently, Snoop teamed up with Flava Flav in order to create a fight song for his son’s high school football team, Bishop Gorman. The song is titled “Bishop Gorman Move Them Chains” and features lyrics pushing for school spirit and some humor.
You can find Snoop Dogg’s fight song here: “Bishop Gorman Move Them Chains.”
[ Image courtesy of Bossip ]
