CHARLOTTE — When Bryce Young was still a child growing up in Southern California, attending basketball camps all over the city, he once found himself at a camp hosted by Kobe Bryant. The legendary Los Angeles Lakers player floated through the teams, talking to kids, taking pictures, and offering high-fives.

"I don't think I did ask Kobe anything. I was probably way too nervous for it," joked Young on Saturday, recalling the memory ahead of the Young 9 Foundation's CareSource Bryce Young Football Procamp at Johnson C. Smith University.

"But I do remember him being around, interacting with the kids. He was shooting, like, we would all be playing a game, and he (would) just shoot around, and everyone stop the game and watch him shoot. I do have a—he did pictures with each team, so I remember that, and I remember like literally dapping up every single kid, which we were all like, 'We're never washing our hand again!'"

Fast forward 15 years or so, and Young is the one hosting camps in Southern California and Charlotte, giving a new group of kids lasting memories.

"One of the kids was like, 'You play in the NFL,'" Young shared. "I was like, 'Yeah, I do.' He was like, 'So do you have $1,000?' I was like, 'I do, I do have it.' And he went crazy. He was like, 'Whoa,' and he ran around, which is like one hundred percent. He was, I think he was like 6 or 7…and I also remember being 6 or 7 and thinking $1,000 was the maximum amount of money anyone could have in life."

As a former No. 1 overall pick, it's safe to say Bryce Young has more than $1,000, but the experience and perspective that got him to that point is what he hopes to share with the next generation.

"It's definitely humbling just to be able to be in a situation now where I can help my own," Young shared. "This is something that I never even dreamed to be possible. Just being able to be in a situation to be able to give back, be able to put on something like this."

This is the second year the Young 9 Foundation has hosted a camp in Charlotte, and Saturday saw coaches, including Panthers head coach Dave Canales, and teammates on hand to help support the effort. As Young heads into his third season with the franchise and in the city, he's working to plant his roots in the Queen City and spread his foundation's mission, giving every young person tools and support to prioritize their mental health.

"I'm super grateful for my team for the work that goes into this and for me being able to interact with all the campers," said Young.

"Just see that that joy in their eye, and playing the game and having a good time, and trying to help out through the mental health stuff or giving little tips on the field; it's something that brings me a lot of joy, honestly, and I feel like it's what it's all about, being able to give back."

The child of a school teacher and a psychologist, Young knows he was blessed to grow up in a household that didn't place a stigma around mental health, especially in young minds. That's not the case in every household, and Young wants to make those inroads with the youth where he can.

"I was able to grow up, you know, without it being stigmatized and knowing the importance of it, and I credit a lot of what I've been able to accomplish in life and in football because of that," he said. "Just the focus that I've had (and) intentionality that I was introduced to at a young age, and I know that everyone doesn't have that luxury, and I think that's a big reason for our mission at the Young 9 Foundation is trying to give people tools that obviously not everyone gets."

The camp took place on the weekend between OTAs and the Panthers minicamp. It's a bustling and taxing stretch of the calendar, and most players plan camps and other activities of the sort for the break that follows. Young wanted to purposely put his camp in the midst of the whirlwind, though.

"It's a great opportunity just to gain some perspective," he explained. "When you're working, and you know, football is your job, and you get into the very intricate details of what we all go through as professionals—I wouldn't say you lose the love, but obviously, it becomes work. You do it all the time, and this (is) a great reminder for myself, a great refresher going into the minicamp where we're going to be locked in, grinding for next week.

"Being able to see the joy that everyone, (the) kids especially had, seeing these kids enjoying the game, having fun, running around, that's something that again for me, I'm super grateful for; I take a lot of pride in and get a lot of joy from, so it'll be great just to get some perspective going to minicamp."