Youth-N-Action Leads the Next Generation

By Mikala McCurry

December 10, 2021

Pierre Mayes, born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, graduated from Lanier High School and Alabama State University with a B.S. in Physical Education. He is known in the community as a basketball coach and has been coaching basketball since 2003. In addition to being a basketball coach, Mayes positively impacts youth in the community through his role as Director of Operations with Youth-N-Action.

“I’m always involved with the youth and trying to make a difference in their lives. I have people who I went to highschool with that now have kids in middle and highschool who reach out to me and want me to work with their kids. It’s really a great feeling knowing that I’m making a difference in the community and our organization is able to have an impact on so many lives of so many individuals,” Mayes said.

Youth-N-Action is an organization that provides programs to at-risk youth. The programs range from athletic to academic to social.

“My dad created the organization in 1995. It was a resource to steer kids to the YMCA and different sports teams to keep the kids active in the community,” Mayes said. “We eventually spun it off into our own organization, and we received our 501c3 status in 2015.”

Youth-N-Action serves youth ranging from 6-15 years old. The organization has after school athletic programs as well as a program for learning life skills. They also perform community projects.

“We provide opportunities to youth and their families that they might not be able to afford. With the YMCA, you have fees, and some families just can’t afford it. But just because the family can’t afford it shouldn’t mean that the child can’t have the same opportunities as the family that can afford it. We just want to even the playing field,” Mayes said.

Youth-N-Action has done several community projects, including the Turkey Giveaway for Thanksgiving. They’ve also completed a voting registration drive registering 18 year olds in local high schools to vote. The organization also hosts enlightening camps every summer where the children will do a sport and will hear from different speakers during the 3-day camp.

“We get different speakers from different career areas for each of the three days and try to give the kids an idea of what the speakers do for a living and see if that inspires them to want to do the same thing,” Mayes said.

As Youth-N-Action continues to grow and support the community, the organization is requesting financial donations to support their education leaders. Mayes desires to start a college prep program for 8-12th graders as a three-step project. The organization is looking for individuals who want to donate to help fund their cause of keeping children busy and off of the street while exposing them to positive concepts that they wouldn’t usually get exposure to.

On Saturday, December 11, Youth-N-Action will host its Youth-N-Action High School Basketball Showcase with 14 basketball teams playing a 7-game tournament at the Garrett Coliseum. 7 of the teams will be local to Montgomery.

“The purpose of this event is to give youth the opportunity to play while the holiday season is around and to raise money for our winter and spring projects and programs so the kids can get the best experience possible,” Mayes said. “With the funds raised from these events, our basketball team was able to go to Hampton, VA, to compete at AAU Nationals this past summer, and our track team was able to go to Houston,TX, to compete in the Junior Olympics.”

On Sunday, December 12, Youth-N-Action’s track team will be traveling to Birmingham for an indoor meet. Every weekend in December and January, the team will be doing indoor track. AAU basketball will commence January through March, then outdoor track will pick up in March through July.

For more information on Youth n Action, visit www.youthnact.org or follow the organization on social media at @youth_naction on Instagram, @Youth-N-Action on Facebook and @Youth_n_act on Twitter. They can also be reached by email at info@youthnact.org.