DiGiJeff

ATLANTA (MyFOX Atlanta) -- Hip-hop star T.I. held a back-to-school event in Atlanta's Bankhead community where he grew up Sunday. Monday, students in the cities of Atlanta and Decatur and Cobb, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties will head back to the classroom. T.I. has spent of hundreds of hours doing community service and Sunday's event was one he holds every year. This year's message was a bit different, perhaps because of everything that has happened to the rapper recently and more than 1,000 kids showed up to see T.I. "Getting the kids ready to go back to school and motivating them to get their minds together," said T.I. Kids walked away with free school supplies and were able to spend some time with the hip-hop star. Despite what T.I. has been through the year after being arrested on federal charges in October, parents said they appreciated what T.I. had to say to kids. "He told him something positive to stay in school not for him but for himself," said parent Cindy Colbert. "They listen to his music, so by him speaking out to the children that helps out. He's standing behind where he went wrong at and he's spending time with them showing them right and wrong," said parent Beewanda Gates. "I can't stress enough the value of education and importance of an education," said T.I. For the next seven months, T.I. will continue to fulfilling community service before he reports to jail. "I recognize that I have put myself in a position I have to go and pay my debt to society rather than dreading that. I'm looking forward to putting this all behind me," said T.I. T.I. will report to jail in March after he completes his community service obligation. As part of his plea deal for the federal weapons charges, T.I. agreed to do 1,500 hours of community service.

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