J. Cole drops by Falcon Children's Home Christmas party

Teenagers from the Falcon Children's Home received a major Christmas gift they weren’t expecting at a Christmas party on Thursday — a drop-in visit from famous rapper and Fayetteville native J. Cole.

The evening event at Round-A-Bout Skating at Eutaw Shopping Center was attended by 500 to 600 people, said Michele Ellis, whose committee of volunteers — Santa’s Helpers — organizes the party every year. Guests included children from the Falcon home as well as children from a home in Turbeville, South Carolina, that also is owned by Falcon. The homes are a haven for children who are orphaned or who are going through other challenges or transitions.

[PHOTOS: J. Cole before he was famous]

Cole arrived just before 7:30 p.m., Ellis said. His visit was a surprise to volunteers, too. One of the volunteers, Mark Pezzella of Five Star Entertainment, had arranged for Cole to do a special video for the event but was not expecting him to appear in person.

Just as Santa was ready to greet the kids, a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy tapped Ellis on the shoulder and whispered that Cole was there.

Ellis said the Grammy-nominated rapper did not want to make a grand entrance. He just wanted to mix in.

[PHOTOS: J. Cole in Fayetteville throughout the years]

“He did not want to take away from the kids,” she said. “He just started mingling and talking to them.”

But it did not take long for the children to figure out Cole was there.

Said Pezzella: “He must have made it about 20 feet onto the skating rink floor before somebody recognized him, and the place went crazy.”

The kids began screaming and jumping up and down. Ellis and Pezzella said Cole himself was in tears.

The annual Christmas party, which is in its 16th year, is a big deal for the children’s home residents and staff even outside of Cole’s visit. Numerous restaurants, businesses and community organizations sponsor the event, which includes a meal, and adopt a child to whom to give gifts.

“We have a gift-wrap event on Tuesdays before the party,” said Ellis, and each resident gets a “5- or 6-foot” stack of presents.

Committee members raised $100,500 for the home.

Ellis said Cole stayed for about an hour.

The artist, who is 33 and whose first name is Jermaine, lives in the Triangle. But he often comes back to his hometown, unannounced, to participate in events that reach out to at-risk youth. His Dreamville Foundation donates to local causes, including the Find-A-Friend program, which is under Fayetteville Urban Ministry.

As a teenager, Cole worked at the Round-A-Bout Skating in Eutaw.

Pezzella was the D.J. for Cole’s prom when Cole was a student at Terry Sanford High School. He said he had been trying to arrange a visit by the rap star to the Christmas party for two years, but it was difficult because of Cole’s schedule, which included international touring.

Pezzella was fine with the idea of a video Cole would do just for the event. But the in-person visit, he said, took things to the next level for the children.

He said the Santa’s Helper committee does all it can for the kids with the Christmas party.

“But (Cole) coming in and being as kind as he is, and giving back to the community the way he does … I know for a fact he brightened their day.

“He was teared-up. It was the real deal. I think they kind of knew that he was here because he cared.”

Staff writer Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

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