Mike Tyson, his son Miguel Leon Tyson, and Prince Jackson have started a new project to help kids in Los Angeles. They're calling it The Passion Project, and it's all about giving kids from tough backgrounds a chance to find what they love doing.
The first event for The Passion Project happened on May 18 at Hayvenhurst. That's a special place because it's where the Jackson family moved when they started working with Motown back in 1970.
Prince Jackson, who's Michael Jackson's son, talked about why they picked this spot:
"We are here at the Beautiful Hayvenhurst, where my family moved from Gary, Indiana, in 1970 to Los Angeles to start working with Motown. We are here to celebrate the inauguration of the Passion Project, which is a passion of both the Heal Los Angeles Foundation and the Tyson Cares Foundation."
Right now, the project is working with 20 kids. They're getting to try all sorts of cool things like voice acting, jiu-jitsu, cooking, swimming, and even some science and tech stuff.
Miguel Tyson explained why this matters so much:
"A lot of kids, especially in the inner city, don't get the opportunity to even know what they're passionate about... Now, we just have 20 kids. They tell us what they're passionate about, and then we find organizations, whether it's a science center in downtown LA or whether it's voice acting."
Mike Tyson knows firsthand how important this kind of help can be. He grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and life wasn't easy. He got into fights, got arrested a bunch of times before he was even 13, and ended up in a reform school. But then he met some people who introduced him to boxing, and that changed everything.
Tyson said:
"I'm so proud of my son and Prince Jackson because from my experience, I know kids just need hope for a better life. I was a bad kid. I was heading for the prison system or the graveyard."
That's why this project means so much to him. He wants to give kids the same kind of chance he got – a shot at finding something they're good at and passionate about, something that can change their lives for the better.
The Passion Project is a team effort between Tyson's own Tyson Cares Foundation and Prince Jackson's Heal Los Angeles Foundation. They're working together to make sure these kids get opportunities they might not have had otherwise.
It's still early days for The Passion Project, but Tyson, his son, and Prince Jackson are hoping it will make a big difference in these kids' lives. They want to show them that no matter where they come from, they can find something they love and maybe even turn it into a future.
