Brody Nolan and Ben Kroner were inseparable as students at East Valley High School, despite being from two different worlds. Nolan was born and raised in Yakima, while Ben was adopted at 2 years old from Rwanda.
The two met in sixth grade, but grew closer during their freshman year. They bonded over golf, starting a window-washing business together and stuff Nolan described as “high schooler things.”
“We hung out every day,” Nolan said. “He was my best friend.”
On Jan. 2, 2025, Nolan had gotten off the phone with Ben, looking forward to seeing him at breakfast the next day. Less than an hour later, he lost his best friend to suicide. Nolan is a senior in high school now.
Losing Ben was one of the hardest days of his life, Nolan said. But he wanted to honor Ben and help shine a light during a dark time for his friends, family and the community.
Nolan started the nonprofit organization Intrnl Fight with two other friends, aiming to save lives through mental health awareness and letting people know they aren’t alone in their struggles.
Suicide lifeline
Access the suicide and crisis lifeline by calling 988 or go to 988lifeline.org for help.
The name of the nonprofit references the unseen, internal struggles and battles people have with their mental health.
“Some people fight demons that none of us can comprehend,” Nolan said.
Although Nolan was struggling himself, he also wanted to do something to help people and solve problems.
Intrnl Fight initially started as an initiative to make hoodies inspired by a friend’s mom and donate the proceeds to a mental health awareness organization. But Nolan foresaw that the initiative could grow into something bigger, and it did.
“Love Like Ben” is the tagline printed on the back of the hoodies, a gesture that signifies Ben’s happy, caring personality. The hoodies garnered immediate support. Nolan sold more than 100 in their release, and grew a strong following from it.
From there, he connected with Emily Nelson, the executive director of student support at Education Service District 105, for advice on how to build on the foundation he had laid with his two friends.
“I asked her, ‘What can we do to make a difference?’” Nolan said. “She said, ‘There’s nothing like peer-to-peer support systems.’” Peer-to-peer support systems are help from people with shared experiences.
Mental health awareness and Intrnl Fight
Nolan started the group with two other friends, but they eventually stepped back, so he’s running things now with support from a board. Ben’s mother, Cherri Kroner, is the board president, so she keeps a close eye on everything.
“There’s a Bible verse that says, ‘What Satan intends for evil, God will use for good,” Cherri said. “I hate that it was Ben, but I’m grateful that something good is going to come of this.”
Nolan has organized events and set up informational booths at festivals to develop peer-to-peer support systems, spread the nonprofit’s mission and raised donations to support the cause. All the money goes back into the nonprofit to support youth and expand mental health awareness.
Intrnl Fight started a little more than a year ago and has raised close to $8,000.
“I couldn’t be more grateful (for) the amount of support we’ve had,” Nolan said.
Other initiatives include speaking engagements at middle and high schools to encourage open conversations, and a podcast series that invites people to share their stories of perseverance through mental health struggles.
ESD 105 advised Nolan that he could make the most impact by urging high school students to help their peers. Those words inspired him to develop a high school club program, which he plans to roll out in August for the next school year.
He recruited the help of Avery Morrill, now Intrnl Fight’s program director, and her master’s degree in education to develop the curriculum.
How it works is school administrators designate student leaders to seek out students who might be struggling and help them find the support they need. Students who want to get involved can take a course on the Intrnl Fights app to become leaders themselves.
Students leaders will also be tasked with spreading mental health awareness through posters and participating in various activities.
“All it takes is one student looking at a poster that says, ‘You belong,’” Nolan said.
About Ben Kroner
Nolan and Cherri described Ben as a loving and caring person with a positive attitude. Cherri said that he loved to dance and sing.
He was a blessing and an answer to the family’s prayers, who chose to adopt after Cherri and her husband, Bill, tried for years for a second biological child with no success.
The adoption process took 20 months and a lot of paperwork, but Ben completed the Kroner family, Cherri said.
“He had that intelligent wit; he could read the room,” she said. “Sometimes a little sarcastic, but well timed and funny, and he’d always made us laugh.”
While high school friendships might come and go, Ben was a friend forever, Cherri said. He cared deeply for his friends, bringing joy and laughter, and making sure everybody was included.
She recalled a moment when Ben went to Young Life camp, a week-long summer getaway for teenagers. Towards the end of the camp, the kids would take a mile hike to watch the sunrise. Ben noticed one of the kids having a hard time keeping up, so he went out of his way to walk with him.
The young kid told Cherri that the moment meant so much to him, and if it wasn’t for Ben, he wouldn’t have seen the sunrise, Cherri said.
“That’s who Ben was,” she said.
A couple of years ago, the Kroner family participated in Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine event, hosted by churches worldwide, to honor children with special needs.
Ben left such an impression on the little girl he was paired with that she asked for him the following year.
Around 1,200 people showed up to Ben’s funeral service, 400 watched it online and hundreds went to his candlelight vigil that his close friends put together.
Seeing the support and condolences of the people who knew and loved Ben brought Cherri to her knees with gratitude and comfort, she said.
Cherri commemorated Ben’s memory through a tattoo nine months after his passing. The tattoo is a heart with a “B” inside. Under the tattoo is Ben’s handwriting from a Christmas gift, and above it is a reminder of verses Psalms 139:11 and 12.
“The Lord just took me through the scriptures,” she said. “Then I heard the Lord say, ‘I took his darkness and turned it into light.’”
What’s next for Intrnl Fight
The support for Intrnl Fight shows that there’s a strong need in the community for it, Bill said. With the isolation that the kids experienced from the pandemic, it’s hard for them to communicate, but they want to connect.
With the world we live in now, teenagers become disinterested in their hobbies, which can’t be solely attributed to being a teenager or figuring things out, Cherri said. When they want to stop doing things they like doing, it’s important to ask questions.
“Don’t just mark everything up to teenage-hood,” she said. “Ask more listening questions.”
There’s a point in time during high school when a kid’s peers become more important. The more parents communicate with their kids and get to know their friends, the clearer a picture they’ll get, Bill said.
“That’s what’s so beautiful about the vision Brody has, because it is peer-based,” Cherri added.
Intrnl Fight will have the Cornhole with Purpose Tournament at noon on May 9. The fundraising event will be at Sozo Sports Complex, 2200 S. 36th Ave., in Yakima.
Tournament winners will receive cash prizes. Those not participating can still enjoy food and a raffle.
More information can be found on Intrnl Fight’s Instagram page.
“We’re hoping that the community can come out and support mental health and help us spread awareness,” Nolan said.