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Johnny Louis

 

Ludacris made a hefty donation to a father-daughter duo looking to change the world of tech with their company Photo Patch.

The “Throw Them Bows” rapper surprised Jay’Aina “Jay Jay” Patton and her father Antoine with a whopping donation of $10,000 towards their new company during a recent episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Photo Patch isn’t just a regular photo app. The company was designed to help children send pictures to their parents or loved ones who are incarcerated. Photo Patch’s website states that only “19 percent of state parent inmates report seeing their children at least once a month.”

What’s even more startling is that “58.5 percent of state parent inmates and 44.7 percent of federal parent inmates report having never been visited by their children.” Jay’Aina and Antoine hope to close this devastating gap while helping to preserve and strengthen family connections. According to the company’s Instagram page, Photo Patch has reportedly “connected over 70,000 families” and has been used to send nearly 1 million photos and letters.

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The rapper-turned entrepreneur congratulated Jay’Aina and Antoine for their hard work stating that he too had family members who were incarcerated and that were eager to receive pictures of their loved ones.

“You guys are connecting the world…you are the future, 100 percent,”  he told the duo before handing them the big check.

Jay’Aina shared with viewers that she hopes to use her resources to help inspire other Black women to pursue careers in tech.

“Right now I’m on a mission to help 10,000 girls of color get into the world of tech and start their career path,” she explained. “Just for me, there’s not much representation of people who look like me in the world of tech, and I know other little girls want to get into this world, but they don’t see that they can do it,” she added.

“I want to be that guide and help them do it — and just start them off with their career. I actually have a scholarship fund as well that we’re raising awareness for to help these women and girls start their career and just let them know that they can do it.”

 

Check out Ludacris’ sweet exchange with Jay’Aina and her dad below.

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