Building Up The Youth marks five years of mentoring local kids

Five years ago, Ernest Brown of Sicklerville was coaching a local team as part of a church basketball league.

- Ahnyah Pinckney

Afterward, one of the kids approached Brown and asked if he might teach him to play. He agreed to share some pointers and brought his son for practice on a Saturday at New Brooklyn Park. The following week, more kids joined in.

"Every week, I noticed more kids started coming," said Brown. So he decided to make these meetups official in 2017, with the launch of the nonprofit Building Up the Youth.

The organization currently serves at least 600 children between the ages of 10 and 19. With the help of volunteer leaders, Brown runs fifteen group chats on Instagram, each with about 32 kids. The ongoing conversations allow the youth to keep in touch, so no one feels alone, said Brown. And while the organization does not have a physical headquarters yet, he manages to organize a wide range of mentoring, athletics, academic support, and community development programs that keep the kids busy and out of trouble.

Whether it's taking the kids to the gym or taking a group of girls to get their hair done at a local salon-Building Up The Youth is all about getting young people together for fun activities in safe spaces. We caught up with Brown and some students during a recent football game at Winslow High School.

"Building Up The Youth is something that helps with your social skills, helps you get better and come out of your comfort zone," said Tearanny Colon, a freshman at Winslow High School and youth leader for Building Up The Youth.