Tyler Perry donated $100,000 to help student
athletes in the South-Western City School District in Columbus, Ohio.
The Columbus Dispatch reported Perry surprised
students during a musical concert at the Finland Middle School. In front of 700
students and staff, Perry said, “I want to sponsor as many kids as I
can,”before handing over a $100,000 check to the Success Beyond the
Classroom Foundation.
Perry was inspired to visit the school after watching the
HBO series, “HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” in September that
profiled Finland teacherMary Mulvany who co-founded the Success
Beyond the Classroom Foundation. The foundation was created to help raise
money for students who could not afford to participate in school sports.
In 2009, the school
district was forced to eliminate sports and other extracurricular activities
due to financial constraints after a failed levy. Since then, schools begun
charging students to participate in sport activities and extracurriculars.
“How many [of you] have hopes and dreams and goals and
things you want to do? Listen. Don’t let anybody stop you,” Perry said
to the crowd of students–some of which were crying as they listened to his
inspirational words. The director/actor/writer shared his tough childhood story
with the students telling them they are the ones who continue to inspire the
work that he does.
Last October, Perry announced that he would team
up with media mogul and close friend, Oprah Winfrey to
produce two new shows for the OWN network. The drama The Haves and the
Have Nots (May 28) and the sitcom Love Thy
Neighbor (May 29) both premiere this week on OWN.
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