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

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.

My organization is called Building up the Youth, where I provide mentoring and other activities to kids that consist of all backgrounds and include girls and boys.

Nonprofit gives away 200 backpacks with school supplies.

Spirits were high on Sunday, Aug. 22, as around 100 kids, parents and other community members came together at New Brooklyn Park for the Building Up the Youth event led by Sicklerville residents Ernest Brown and Nikki Thompson.

Ernest Brown, a Philly native and reformed hustler, recently kicked off the annual Basketball Skills camp through his Building Up The Youth organization.