Thuggizzle Cares

Thuggizzle Cares, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) organization founded by Phillip J. Hodge. By the age of 9, Phillip
was a ward of the state. He was born to a drug dealer mother and grew up in and out of foster care, along with his three sisters. He resisted adoption because of the fear that he and his sisters might be separated as a result. Consequently, he often acted out, and was put on medications to manage his behavior. Finally, a staff member at Baptist Children’s Home was able to connect with Phillip, providing hope in his life by helping him to channel his behaviors into music. Phillip discovered that he had an innate ability to create spontaneous rhymes, known as freestyling, even when in competition with other rappers. He adopted the stage name Thuggizzle, which directly translates to thug is him. He now uses this name and his website, Thuggizzlecares.org to show young people that just because others may perceive you as a thug (whether by name, background, or environment), this does not need to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Initially, Phillip started Thuggizzle Cares to provide support to women enduring breast cancer treatment,
having witnessed his aunt fight and survive this devastating disease. As time went on, he also began to
support other causes: issues which either he or his sisters experienced during their time in foster care. He
has worked with various partners, including the City of San Antonio, for which he volunteered his time using his celebrity status to encourage at-risk individuals to be vaccinated against hepatitis B. In an effort to battle the devastation of homelessness, his volunteer staff go out and feed the homeless twice a month and have provided blankets, jackets, socks, shoes, and toiletries for our citizens living in the streets. HIV and STD prevention has been promoted by encouraging testing and the distribution of over 45,000 condom and safe sex packets. Mentoring foster care youth and participating in anti-bullying campaigns are just two of the programs focusing on our young people. Make the Grade is an event that seeks to encourage children who have struggled but succeeded in changing their grades from barely passing to A or AB Honor Roll. Over 100 successful students have been treated to rewards such as pizza parties at Big Lou’s, Fiesta Texas passes, Thin Air and Flipz trampoline park passes, free bicycles, and other incentives. Phillip’s organization has also provided five discounted concealed handgun or basic handgun handling classes for 15-25 women per class at the Tactical Safety Institute. With the help of Home Depot, his nonprofit has provided umbrellas for veterans at the VA Hospital on rainy days. These are just some of the projects which Thuggizzle Cares has undertaken.

Thuggizzle Cares has assisted other agencies (i.e., Any Baby Can and Susan G. Komen) in fundraising activities, including encouraging others to participate in their fundraising walks. We have attempted to secure funding for our own organization by holding fundraising events at Panda Express in February 2014, which raised $4, and another event at Chick-fil-A in November 2014, which raised $15. Additionally, Phillip created and printed pink bumper stickers to support breast cancer awareness and raise funds at various locations throughout San Antonio and has personally met with businesses and individuals to sell these stickers. Up to this point, Thuggizzle Cares has been funded almost exclusively by Phillip Hodge, and is staffed solely by volunteers; but in order to create a greater community impact, additional funding is needed. Subsequently, we are respectfully requesting any funding you can provide in order to reach our immediate and future goals. Please visit our website at www.Thuggizzlecares.org