Anthony “Dappa” Samuels.Photo:PoodaDappa/YouTube
PoodaDappa/YouTube
Anthony “Dappa” Samuelsco-owns theYoung With Options Academic Center, which largely serves low-income families in the West Philadelphia area, according to the daycare’s website.
The 30-year-old musician helped start the business in 2017 — the same year he quit his job in accounting, according to thePhiladelphia Inquirer.
“I love being able to be there and be hands-on,” he told the newspaper. “I take a lot of pride in that, and it actually helps me with music and in life.”
(Please note the video contains adult language and is not safe for work.)
YWO provides “high-quality, safe, and engaging education to our young scholars,” according to its website. On Instagram, the businessdescribes itselfas “more than a daycare."
All families are welcome at the daycare, which provides opportunities “that some children may not be able to experience outside of our center” in hopes of creating “the leaders of tomorrow," per its website.
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“We believe that it is important to introduce and assist children with performing at their highest potential while growing with us,” read a message on the website.
Alongside assistant director Dinnelle Jordan, Samuels helps organize various classes at YWO that are geared toward creativity, including poetry, music, and acting activities, per theInquirer.
Samuels prides himself on setting an example for the kids attending YWO.
He is also familiar with the environments that many of the kids come from, having grown up in the Strawberry Mansion section of North Philadelphia.
In fact, the rapper is hoping to open more daycares “in the future” and to have an impact on even more children’s lives. “It’s all about me making a difference,” he told theInquirer.
And parents are feeling the difference, too. Janelle Walls said Samuels has not only radiated positivity in the six years she has been bringing her 7-year-old daughter to YWO, but also helped her family when they could not afford the daycare’s fees.
“Everything about him and what he does is consistent with the Young With Options brand,” Walls told the newspaper. “To me, it’s a message to kids that you can be yourself and still be successful.”
source: people.com
