MEMPHIS, Tenn — Heal the Hood is on a mission to invest in the future of Mid-South children. So the group is currently holding a ‘Wake Up’ tour through 30 Memphis schools.
The goal is to inspire children to stay out of gangs and make drastic lifestyle changes. For an hour, students listen to positive musicians, actors, motivational speakers, and more.
Wednesday, the tour stopped at Westside Middle School to surprise a young essay winner with $300.
"When I first started writing the essay, I started thinking about what the kids in my school go through, what I'm going through and how it is living in Memphis and the environment that you’re surrounded by,” said essay winner Miracle Coleman.
Coleman said she’s going to give the money to her mother and grandmother, because they are her ‘first ladies.’
The tour is in its 16th year. It has reached more than 500,000 children in the Mid-South to date.
