Meet Pierre Mayes | Nonprofit Director and Real Estate Investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pierre Mayes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pierre, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Our organization, Youth-N-Action helps the community in many positive ways. We give the youth a positive outlook at life through academics and sports. We offer programs to the youth to keep them engaged with their peers which continues to build their social skills, academic programs to increase their educational performance, and athletic programs to enhance the youth athletically. With the proper development academically, socially, and athletically the youth can increase their chances of receiving college scholarships to further their education which can lead to them achieving life goals and being productive citizens in society.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am the director of Youth-N-Action 501c3 nonprofit organization. I have a passion for impacting the lives of the youth in ways that will guide them in the right direction to be productive citizens in their adult lives.

I started coaching youth basketball in 2003 with the Youth-N-Action organization when I was 19 years old and over the years I have had some challenges to where I debated if I really wanted to continue to work with the youth or not. I’m still working with them 19 years later so I know it was my calling. I get a thrill out of seeing the youth achieve goals that they have set out for themselves. Each year it’s another kid or group of kids so I just keep going. Over the years my role expanded from just being a basketball coach to being the director over our basketball program and to now being the director of our overall organization. We have a track and field club, a Jr golf program, a basketball program, and an educational program which includes a 4 week summer educational program and a college prep program.

It has been a struggle to get to this point but I believe in prayer and manifestation. Our biggest obstacle is often funding to support our youths and program. In the past it kept us from doing a lot of things we had the vision to do but felt we couldn’t pull it off. I have now surrounded myself and our organization with individuals who support our mission and our goals and the results are evident. We recently flew our basketball team to Las Vegas, NV to compete for 6 days while at the same time our track team competed for a week in Greensboro, NC at the AAU Jr Olympics.

Through all of this I have the learned the importance of keeping faith alive, surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals, and to never give up on your dreams and goals no matter what people may say.

We are a first class organization working with over 100 kids and over 25 volunteers with the same common goal. We want to enhance the youth academically, socially, and athletically so they can pursue and achieve their academic, life, and athletic goals.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My father, Darryl Mayes. My dad created this organization in the mid 90s as a resource to get kids in the neighborhood active outside of school and during the summers by steering families to the local YMCAs where we could compete athletically in a structured setting. Years later we were able to spin-off and create our own programs for the local youth to participate in. Since that time we have been able to travel with youth all over the country to compete athletically, we have had 25+ individuals to receive athletic college scholarships, we have had 10 individuals to go on to play professional sports, and we currently have several youths grade 5th-10th who are on academic A/B honor roll. Without my farther creating this organization none of this would be happening.

Website: www.youthnact.org

Instagram: youth_naction

Linkedin: Youth-N-Action

Facebook: Youth-N-Action

Youtube: Youth N Action