T.I. did a little more than give out Easter eggs on Sunday, he helped bail out 23 nonviolent and first-time accused offenders from jail.
According to Atlanta TV station Fox 5 and other reports, the rapper along with New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia and “Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta” cast member Scrapp Deleon paid bail for 16 men and seven women out of suburban Atlanta jails in the local counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Rockdale and Gwinnett in time for the holiday.
The church began the “Bail Out Program” for Lent, and the goal was to raise $40,000, but $120,000 was reached in less than 40 days. That allowed the 23 people to be bailed out so they could be with their families for the Easter holiday.
On top of that, New Birth Missionary is providing each person with mentors, whom they’ll communicate with on a weekly basis. Plus, it’s using some of the donated money to open college funds for the former inmates’ children.
The “Bail Out” program comes about a month after T.I. was recognized by the Georgia State Capitol for his charitable work.
It happened on March 22, and the rapper was applauded for his charities Harris Community Works, which assists low-income families, and For the Love of Our Fathers, Tip’s program with his wife Tiny that helps people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Tyron Pollard, who was one of the people bailed out on Sunday, talked about the kind act, how surprised he was and what it meant to him.
“It’s like a whole new clean slate,” he said. “I was doing drugs before I got locked up. But I don’t want to do nothing but do right and strive to be a model citizen for my kids. For people to just reach out, willing to help out of the blue, them not knowing you from nobody that’s a blessing.”
Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant of New Birth spoke about the program as well and talked about how thankful the 23 people are.
“It’s almost like finally meeting the good Samaritan,” he explained. “Somebody who you don’t know that you didn’t see coming. They’re appreciative to be able to press the refresh button.”
