Photos by: Dezobri & Frederick Alexis
On Friday, media maven, Karen Civil teamed up with Grammy Award-winning artist, Lil Wayne, to brighten up the holiday season for over 500 students in Haiti. The Christmas celebration was a partnership with Live Civil and included sponsors Trukfit, Scholastic Corporation & L’union Suite.
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During the Live Civil Christmas Giveaway each child was gifted an outfit from Lil Wayne’s Trukfit clothing line and an exclusive Live Civil ‘Thinking Cap’ from Karen Civil’s partnership with New Era. In addition to gifting the young thinkers with a few new clothing items to celebrate the holidays, Haitian-American professional boxer Andre Berto, surprised the kids by dressing up as Santa Claus and passing out toys!
Although the Christmas Giveaway excited the young children with new toys and clothes, it did not deter from the original message of the Live Civil playground and school remodeling; which emphasizes the importance of literacy, education and fun. The United States’ largest children’s publishing company, Scholastic Corporation, donated a book to each of the 500 children, while Karen Civil did a live reading of her new book, Be You & Live Civil.
“A lot of people tend to forget about those who are less fortunate during the holiday season, not many understand how receiving just one item could bring so much joy to a child’s life, especially if they don’t have the same everyday luxuries that the more fortunate tend to overlook. I’m just grateful to be able to give back to Haiti in any way possible,” said Lil Wayne.
Lil Wayne’s partnership with Karen Civil shouldn’t come as any surprise, as the two Hip Hop figures have worked together in the past with the creation of Lil Wayne’s personal blog weezythanxyou.com. Karen was able to fund her Live Civil Playground in Pétionville within Port-au-Prince, Haiti with the help of various notable Hip Hop celebrities. Since then the Haitian-American entrepreneur has expanded the educational playground by remodeling the middle school located near her playground. As a first generation American, Karen has always felt obligated to go back to her parents’ home to give back.
“The Live Civil initiative in Haiti is something that brings me joy! Being able to put a smile on the kids faces during the holidays is a gift within itself,” stated Karen.
With 2016 vastly approaching, Karen will continue to help expand the Live Civil brand through the United States and abroad. In addition, Karen Civil recently released her first book, ‘Be You & Live Civil’ available now. Check out more photos below!
Photos by: Dezobri & Frederick Alexis.
