Jayden Watkins the student is on fall break this week, which gives Jayden Watkins the part-time radio guy some extra daytime hours at WIZS. And maybe, just maybe, it gives Jayden Watkins the founder of the nonprofit “Higher Is Waiting” a little time to devote to his developing organization.
At age 16, the junior at Henderson Collegiate said he had gotten a little pushback from folks who didn’t think he could get the nonprofit off the ground. “I did not listen to those naysayers,” he said.
With a mission “to educate, equip, and empower individuals to live according to their life’s purpose by providing necessary resources and faith-based events,” Higher Is Waiting has a youth Bible Study group and provides food, clothing and other supplies to area agencies that serve needy populations.
The “Empowered” teen Bible study has 130 members who range in age from 13-19. Their monthly meetings include mentorship opportunities and learning life skills, Watkins said. They also do service projects in the community.
“I’m thankful to God and thankful for donations,” he said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!
Like many an entrepreneur and nonprofit founder, Watkins said his biggest challenge right now is financing to provide food, winter clothing and more. The youth have created more than 300 “Blessing Bags” filled with toiletry essentials, nonperishable foods and more that have been distributed to shelters and other places that serve needy populations.
He’s done interviews with a couple of local TV stations, which come to town when there’s something going on that casts Henderson in a negative light.
“Let’s highlight something positive,” Watkins said. “There are some positive, world-changing young people in Henderson, North Carolina.”
An upcoming event that Watkins is organizing is called “Young Voices for Change,” which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Perry Memorial Library. It’s a chance for young people to speak for up to five minutes on an issue they’re concerned about – from gun violence and self-esteem to substance use among youth in the community. Local officials will be on hand to listen and learn, Watkins said, and “to hear the concerns of our youth…in a good, welcoming, positive environment.”
Call Watkins at 252.425.0354 to learn ways to help Higher Is Waiting.
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