Hi, I'm Terrah J. Mustaf II, founder of Take Charge Basketball & Life Skills Program, Inc.

Take Charge is more than a nonprofit to me. It's a family legacy.

In 1990, my grandfather, Shaar Mustaf, founded Take Charge Juvenile Diversion Program, Inc. to serve at-risk and justice-involved youth throughout Prince George's County, Maryland and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. His mission was simple: help young people change the trajectory of their lives through mentorship, education, accountability, and opportunity.

In 1995, the year I was born, my late father, former NBA player Jerrod Mustaf, joined that mission by organizing basketball and life skills camps that brought together young people from across our community. Some of my earliest memories are of those camps. I grew up attending them, helping in the office, setting up gyms, and eventually leading camps and mentoring the next generation of participants.

Years later, my father also created a Take Charge travel basketball program that helped develop countless young athletes, including my younger brother, current Indiana University guard Jaeden Mustaf, whose basketball foundation was built through those experiences.

While the original Take Charge organization is no longer operating as it once did in the D.C. area, the mission never left our family.

Today, I have the privilege of carrying that legacy forward by launching Take Charge Basketball & Life Skills Program, Inc. here in Georgia.

As a special education teacher and high school basketball coach, I've seen firsthand that basketball can open doors, but character, education, and life skills are what keep those doors open. Our mission is to use the game as a vehicle to help young people become confident students, leaders, teammates, and citizens.

Our programming is built around four pillars:

• Identity & Character

• Family & Community

• School & Life Skills

• Basketball & Competitive Development

Your support will help us provide free and low-cost clinics, camps, mentorship, tutoring, leadership workshops, equipment, meals, scholarships, and year-round programming so that financial circumstances never prevent a child from participating.

Every dollar invested is an investment in a young person's future.

Please note: Take Charge Basketball & Life Skills Program, Inc. is a registered Georgia nonprofit corporation with an EIN and is currently pursuing IRS 501(c)(3) recognition. At this time, donations are not tax-deductible.

My grandfather taught me the importance of serving others, and my father showed me how basketball could become a classroom for life. My hope is that Take Charge will honor both of their legacies by helping the next generation discover their potential, on the court and beyond.

Thank you for believing in our mission and for helping us continue a legacy that began more than 35 years ago.

Together, we're helping young people take charge of their future.