Plies Launches Non-Profit to Benefit Students and Inmates

Slip-N-Slide Records rapper Plies has partnered with his brother and manager Big Gates to create a non-profit organization that promotes a “more functional, productive and just community,” reports AllHipHop. The pair will launch the Power of Visions by awarding two $5,000 scholarships to recipients from their native South Florida neighborhoods.

The scholarship fund is named after a song on Plies’ latest album Definition of Real. One male and one female student will receive the “Somebody Loves You” Scholarship this year, with children of incarcerated parents receiving special consideration.

“We want to provide those who have been and continue to be affected by the negative impacts of the prison system with a sense of hope, and to let them know that they are not forgotten,” explains Plies. “No matter what adversities one may face in life, one thing remains true – and that is that somebody loves you.”

The scholarship will be applied to the 2008-2009 school year, and is open to entering freshmen, as well as continuing students at an accredited college or university.

Power Of Visions, Inc hopes to break the cycle of incarceration with the scholarship as well as through a variety of other programs, including rehabilitative classes, training and workshops. Big Gates and Plies will also provide financial support and legal representation for needy individuals - especially those already in jail.