WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

Every third Saturday residents in Kernersville line up in their vehicles while volunteers stock their trunks with free food, fruit, veggies, drinks, toiletries, pampers, and other necessities. The free food drive originally started when Bishop Todd Fulton first saw a need in his church, Mt. Moriah Outreach. “We asked the members to bring $5 and $10 gift cards,” said Bishop Fulton. He realized that wasn’t enough, so the church partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank. “We were able to move food by the pallet.” 

Last year Mt. Moriah Outreach gave out 700 pounds of food. “This is the real work of God, and we’re blessed to be able to do this.” Fulton added, ” I have been a part of the food bank since I was a teenager and I have enjoyed every minute of this journey. We have given to our community for several years and I am proud of what we do every month.

“Proverbs 22:6 says, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ In 2021, God led me to do exactly what the word said. Under the umbrella of my nonprofit, The Next Level of the Triad, Inc., I started a youth organization called The New Cool Movement. Whenever we see or hear about an opportunity to make a difference in the Triad communities, we’re there. This past Saturday Mt. Moriah Outreach was New Cool Movement’s destiny. We assisted their members with prepping and serving,” 

“The feeling of giving back to the community and giving our brothers and sisters a loving hand up is always a blessing. Just getting to see the smiles of others and being the reason behind that smile is such a great feeling. But this is just the beginning of our journey on changing the image of cool,” shared the organization’s president, Jeremiah Jett.

“I designed the organization to change the image of COOL for students in the Triad, with our eyes and mind set on changing the world. The images on social media have played a huge role with shaping the music, fashion and behavior of our youth. So, we use powerful messages on social media platforms, such as our YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok channels, to record youth engaging in community service work.”

“I love what we do! It’s a blessing to be a blessing, so when we began this great work, it truly enlightened my soul and opened my eyes to the hunger crisis in our country. I always show up with an opened up heart and ready to keep helping people,” said New Cool member Jaydah Wom. 

“This is the first time I’ve done something like this. It feels good doing something for others without expecting something in return,” said new member Neveah Payne. She recently graduated as her senior class valedictorian. 

“I feel super important, dad. I love that I matter to someone other than you and mom. Everywhere we go, adults seem to love seeing young people doing cool stuff like this,” said our youngest member, Nate Brown, my nine-year-old son. 

Founding member Jonathan Wilcox shared, “This experience of giving back to the community was yet again so moving. We helped fill up bags of fresh, prepared fruits and food cans, as well as tea and water. It felt amazing connecting with our brothers and sisters in the Kernersville community and Mt. Moriah Outreach members as well. I can’t wait to do this again.”

The New Cool Movement ages range from 9 – 18, and you can never age out. We’re preparing our high school graduates who relocate out of state to continue the movement. “No matter where we go, it’s imperative that we continue this work,” shared Jonathan. 

We also support low-wealth parents to help provide the basic necessities that children need for school, such as new clothes, shoes, books, and school supplies that parents cannot afford to provide. We coordinate with the parents and surprise the child with gift certificates to purchase their needed items, “That’s a need in every city in this country,” said Jett. 

Our ultimate goal is to purchase a radio station as a point of education for our youth. The station will be run by youth, as well as on-air personalities. This will also be used as an initiative in social change and entrepreneurship. Most radio stations’ personalities are between 30 and 40 years old, so their topics and music aren’t appropriate for youth. Because of this, our 5= 17-year-old kids are becoming young adults before their time, and that’s too much weight to carry for a child. Our radio station will allow them to give themselves permission to have fun being children again. 

2022 will be the organization’s inaugural New Cool Awards. We will award $1,000 to graduating seniors who come from inner-city communities. “As president of New Cool, I feel it’s important to also support graduating seniors without the high GPAs. Now that community college is free, $1,000 will go a long way.” 

For more info, to make a donation, have us come out to volunteer, or get your children involved, send us an email at newcoolmovement@gmail.com. 

The New Cool Movement will aspire to inspire before we expire, because goodness and knowledge are the only investment that never fails. It allows youth to keep true to their dreams without compromise. 

My Organization of the Week is The New Cool Movement.