WS Chronicle

TJ Boone has a passion for helping lead the next generation in the right direction by keeping kids off the streets and into something positive. This afternoon he will be holding a Teenage Day Party at the Winston Lake YMCA, 901 Waterworks Road, from 4-7 p.m. to show the youth that the community is there for them.

The day party will include free food, motivational speakers, and gift bags. Boone traditionally hosted a teenage lock-in, but with the pandemic still among us, a day party seemed like a more responsible way to get his positive message across to the young people in attendance.

“It’s a free event and nobody has to pay for anything,” said Boone. “A lot of people are actually donating to it and these teenagers are used to seeing women because they come from single-parent households. When people try to get these young teenagers out in the street, they see women, so it’s an opportunity for these men out here to step into these young men’s lives, because they need them.”

Boone partnered with Antonio Stevenson of My Brothers Second Chance and Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough for the event. He also spends a lot of time at the Winston Lake YMCA mentoring youth twice a week. His goal is for at-risk youth to come out and hear a positive word from a positive male role model.

“I just want to bring them out there to eat and fellowship and be around some positive people,” he said. “They are scared to go to school, they are scared to go outside; they are living with a lot of fear. We are just creating an opportunity for them to come out and let them know they don’t have to live in fear.”

The success of this next generation of Black men is very important to Boone. He says it’s vital that these young men feel like they have someone or somewhere they can go for help.

For several weeks in a row, a firearm has been found inside of a Forsyth County school. There seems to also be an uptick in fistfights as well. These are alarming trends for Boone, and he feels leadership in the city is to blame.

“The men in the city have been failing these young men,” he said. “We need to stop being afraid of them. We forgot about what we went through and now we are afraid. I think some of these men are afraid to grab these young men because they are afraid of them.

“I think these men need to lift up their heads and grab these young men out these streets and talk to them. Instead of being afraid of them and talking about them, they need to get them and start talking to them.”

Boone says he looks at every encounter with an at-risk youth as an opportunity to positively impact their lives. He says if he can change the life of just one out of the group, then his goal has been accomplished.

“I don’t look to grab a group, I look to grab one,” he said. “If it’s that one child, that one kid that may be among 15 or 20 kids, but it’s always gonna be one. And I don’t know which one it will be, but it will be one.”

Boone is hoping for 50 or more kids to come out to the event this afternoon. His plan is to have a quarterly event for the kids to let them know they have someone to talk to. He even welcomes young ladies that may need some mentoring as well.

Boone is looking for more men to assist with the event. For more information, please call 336-905-4423 or email at beyondmeaurept@gmail.com.