Making A Difference: Nasir Cook and the Nashville Youth Initiative

Starting non-profit organizations is not common for people who are in college.

That hardly stopped Nasir Cook, sophomore on the Princeton Football team, who felt empowered to do something about police relations with his community in Nashville.

"I felt like Nashville, being in the south, we needed something that could bring the community together," said Cook.

How does one get a non-profit idea off the ground? For Cook, it was Princeton's John C. Bogle '51 Fellows in Civic Service program which provides funding for students who have a specific service passion they'd like to pursue. Bogle Fellows receive guidance through the University's John H. Pace Jr. '39 Center for Civic Engagement.

Cook decided to start the Nashville Youth Initiative, an organization that strives to increase cultural competence and awareness between law enforcement and youth by using athletics and academics to bring these groups together.

This was a truly a passion project for the sophomore and his father.

"I went to a high school (Montgomery Bell Academy, MBA) that was predominantly white and very prestigious," said Cook. "My father was throwing newspapers late at night and had an MBA hat on when he was pulled over by a police officer. The officer was asking him what he was doing before he saw the hat and completely changed his mood. I felt like that was something that needed to be addressed."

The process to get this non-profit off the ground was a tedious one. Cook's mother worked in the Davidson County Sheriff's Office (DSCO) and connected him with DSCO Chief Tony Wilkes who later connected him with Chief John Drake and Deputy Chief Sebastian Gourdin of the Metro Nashville Police Department. The group met via Zoom and Cook laid out his plan.

The police department loved Cook's idea.

"It's a blessing to see Nasir being used as a vessel of hope and opportunity for our youth within the Nashville community," said Chief Wilkes. "Nasir's vision allows those kids, that are less fortunate, to see beyond their current environment and embrace possibilities. The Nashville Youth Initiative (NYI) partnership and collaboration with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff's Office spotlights the importance of bridging the gap between law enforcement and inner-city communities -- especially its youth. I believe the NYI is the kind of program needed to change a culture."

"The police have been fully supportive throughout the entire process," said Cook of his work alongside the members of the police department. "We had three or four officers every day at camp and each one was great. They were very hands on with the kids and it was a great deal overall."

The Nashville Youth Initiative ran camps for a month every Tuesday and Friday. Whether it was figuring out where the camps would take place – eventually landing Cook's alma mater, MBA – or even picking up the children, Cook was hands on with the events. In the morning, the children would play sports like kickball, dodgeball, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, tennis and, of course, football. After lunch, the camp focused on public speaking. The campers wrote speeches with help from the police officers before ending the day with a team building exercise.

"We are very proud of Nasir's efforts to bridge the gap between inner city youth and local law enforcement," said Mark Tipps, MBA Athletic Director. "In light of the problems we see in today's world, we thought it was an important initiative, and we were thrilled to help with it. Nasir has always been mindful of supporting the community, and we are very proud he is n MBA alumnus."

This was not just a one-time summer project for Cook. He has plans on expanding the program and eventually bringing it to New Jersey. Even though he's back at Princeton now, the job is not over.

"I'm still talking to my community partners and we're definitely going to have another summer camp," said the Princeton defensive back. "I want to see if I can implement a winter camp for the kids there. I'm trying to figure out schedules and have somebody down in Tennessee running it."

Helping the 25 kids who came through the camp through sports was close to Cook's heart. He leaned on his time as an athlete and at Princeton to help guide him through this experience.

"You definitely have to have a lot of structure and a lot of discipline to be able to do this because it was hard," said Cook. "It was difficult to start the Nashville Youth Initiative from scratch. Being a part of a team here at Princeton, it teaches you to be strong mentally, and just keep going."

For more information on the Nashville Youth Initiative, check out nashvilleyouthinitiative.com or their social accounts (@nyi_org – Twitter, @nyi_org – Instagram).

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