Grammy Award-winning rapper and singer Missy Elliott has donated $50,000 to the Portsmouth Virginia Redevelopment and Housing Authority, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Elliott, a Virginia native, will be helping families in housing crisis on the verge of being evicted, with her Oct. 17 donation.
Director of the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority Alisa Winston said that the money will be distributed to 26 different families to help them pay for their overdue rent after just a short ceremony celebration. The ceremony was held at the city’s oldest African American Baptist Church, Dr. O. Marriner Family Life Center at Grove Church.
Last year, 52-year-old Missy Elliott had a street and day named in her honor in her hometown of Portsmouth, and during her ceremony speech, she said she’s been considering what to do for the anniversary for quite some time. After brainstorming different ideas, she knew that she wanted to continue giving back to her city on a monumental day.
“Instead of it being a celebration of Missy Elliott — you know, about me — I wanted to give back and let that be the celebration of Missy Elliott, just to show that I love everybody out here,” she said during the ceremony.
“Just know that P-Town is with me no matter where I go.”
She continued to express that her mother had raised her with a “giving heart” and that she had a deep love of her city, despite all of her international successes. She continued, “I love my city. I love my state. I love everything about it.”
She added, “Everything about Missy comes from here — the hospitality, the humility, the confidence. If you mess with me, it’s a problem. We sweet, but don’t try us.”
Patricia Elliott, Missy’s mother, also chimed in about her daughter’s donation following the ceremony.
She gave a little advice about giving and humility, saying, “So when you give, you give because you remember those days when you didn’t have. If each person would give when they get to the top, then, what a real beautiful world we would be in.”
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