On Monday, June 29, Up2Us Sports officially welcomed 180 Summer VISTAs to the 2020 Up2Us Sports Summer VISTA Program. 180 VISTAs started their nine-week service term at 100 nonprofit organizations nationwide. Their term will end on Friday, August 28th.
15 of the 180 VISTAs have been serving internally at Up2Us Sports in various capacities. We are excited to have this group of ambitious service members help our team across the nation, which will in turn help us better serve our 1,700+ member organizations, 470+ host sites and 250+ coaches in the days and months ahead.
We wanted you to get to know the 15 VISTAs who have spent their summer helping grow the capacity of Up2Us Sports from within.
Jackson LeMessurier
Age: 23
What city are you located in?
Olympia, Washington
What department within Up2Us Sports are you serving in?
Programs - San Francisco & Seattle
What led you to want to do a service term, particularly right now?
This position gives me the exact experience I want!
What does national service mean to you?
Serving your my community in an effort to bring about greater positive change.
What is one thing you hope to take away from your 9 weeks of service?
A full-time position with Up2Us Sports.
Did you play sports and did It have an impact on why you decided to serve at a youth sports organization?Yes I did play sports and I met my lifelong best friend on the football team I played on. My time in sports impacted my decision in wanting to work with a youth sports organization. Growing up I didn't have a great coach. The other football team in our age group got the good coach. Looking back on it, he implemented a lot of the techniques that I have learned about with Up2Us Sports. Mainly, he brought intentionality to the field.
From Their Supervisors:
“Jackson came our way by recommendation from another Program Director here in Washington who
highlighted his stated passion for youth sports and his desire to start his own non-profit combining sports and service one day. Since meeting him, that passion has shown clear and I’ve really appreciated the chance to get him involved with our work. He’s approached all his work with professionalism and enthusiasm which is valuable in the type of work he is doing for us! He hasn’t been afraid to jump into helping expand outreach headfirst and he’s been an awesome addition to our Northwest Team!”
“What immediately struck me about Jackson was his willingness to support host site recruitment. Where others may have been intimidated by the knowledge that this was a high-priority and time-sensitive project, Jackson did not hesitate. He has made countless phone calls, has sent innumerable emails, and has been relentless in his follow up communication. “No” does not deter Jackson from continuing to ask strategic questions to learn what he can do differently to ensure a “Yes” for next time. His support has truly been invaluable.”
