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.
Name: Jasmine Dennis
Age: 24
What city are you located in?
Paterson, New Jersey
What department within Up2Us Sports are you serving in?
Marketing
*Jasmine also served as an Up2Us Sports VISTA from August 2018 - August 2019 in the Up2Us Sports M&E and Programs team in New York, New York.
What led you to want to do a service term, particularly right now?
I was encouraged to take this opportunity to become a Summer VISTA by Jaclyn Miller (Up2Us Sports Director, Marketing & Communications) who I worked with during my first service year in 2018-2019. She knew I would be interested in the Marketing and would be able to fulfill the role.
What does national service mean to you?
National Service gives service members a. chance to impact not only the communities we live in but across the country. Being able to have so many touching points from our work is truly groundbreaking. Whether it be through fundraising, grant-writing, data analysis or marketing and social media, service members are doing the work to make a change nationwide.
What is one thing you hope to take away from your 9 weeks of service?
After my 9 weeks of service, I hope to gain more confidence in myself and my ability to adapt in any work environment. I hope to use the skills I'm learning, specifically in marketing and partnerships in my next role. I have been able to reconnect with some people within the Up2Us Sports organization and continue to work on things that I worked on during my first term. My goal is to finish up strong and set a foundation so that my work can be used for the lifespan of Up2Us Sports.
Did you play sports and did It have an impact on why you decided to serve at a youth sports organization?
Sports did have an impact on my decision to serve at a youth sports organization. Sports has been my comfort and safe zone since a child. I know the true power sports has to teach you life lessons and its ability to unify people from all creeds of life. Knowing this power, it was important for me to contribute to the positive momentum sports creates from the youth level all the way until the professional sports level.
““The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
In a world filled with so much dissembling, so much obfuscation, and so much noise, it is a gift to work with someone who has the ability to cut to the chase, a person who can get to the heart of the matter. So, you can imagine the enthusiasm with which the marketing team greeted the news that Jasmine was back. That’s right, Jasmine had been a full time VISTA in the NYC office in 2019. And, during that first run, those of us who were lucky enough to work with her, got the privilege to see first hand just how talented, down to earth and clear-sighted a person she is. When news of the summer VISTA program reached our ears, Jaclyn immediately suggested Jasmine. It was our great fortune that Jasmine accepted a second-go-around. We desperately needed someone who could multitask and simplify the seemingly complicated. Unsurprisingly, Jasmine hit the ground running, helping us with multiple research projects at once while also supporting the ongoing development of our alumni program by, among other things, helping to start our alumni LinkedIn page. Like so many other departments at Up2us Sports, the marketing team is constantly juggling multiple priorities and we will sorely miss Jasmine’s rare gift for cutting through the clutter and getting things done, and for reminding us that the simple things are also the most extraordinary things. Take good care Jasmine, and thank you for giving us a little more of your time.”
