CLEVELAND — A local organization hosted a winter donation drive Saturday, and Bone-Thugz-N-Harmony member Krayzie Bone made a surprise appearance during the community event.
The organization continues to spread warmth in an area that needs extra support from the community, which happens to be home to the Cleveland-born rap group Bone-Thugz-N-Harmony.
"It's an area that has been ignored for a very long time, and it's time to bring some attention to it and do more than just this,” said Krayzie Bone.
Krayzie visited the corner of East 99th and St. Clair Avenue, also known as Bone-Thugz-N-Harmony Way, to surprise community members while they were receiving free winter gear from the Spread the Love Foundation.
"I came because I have a family that's in need, and unfortunately, the world is going through something,” said community member Shante Smith.
The foundation had boxes of winter coats, socks and beanies to give away, giving over a hundred families a chance to grab new winter clothes for their entire family.
“You got kids walking to school with just hoodies on and that's their source of being warm or that's their winter coat for the year,” said Grover Brown.
With temperatures dropping in Cleveland, more families need warmer gear but may not have the money to purchase new items.
“We really need to start stepping up, and it's easy to do, but we just don't do it. There are more kids now and neighborhoods aren’t prospering like they should,” said Brown.
Which is why multiple local organizations are coming together to revitalize the area and bring hope back into the neighborhood.
“This program here is just the beginning of things that I’m trying to do for this community, as far as revitalization. I see a lot of promise here and I see a lot of good things that [are] going to happen here,” said Krayzie.
He plans to continue using his voice to give back to the community that raised him and hopes to one day build affordable housing.
“It's always good to use a platform for good and to give back to the neighborhood because we owe that to the places we come from,” said Krayzie.
