“This is Amy, the Saturday Sports Coordinator for ENP.”

You’ve probably read that if you’ve ever gotten an email from me. Since I am relatively new here (hired in August ‘18), I would bet that a majority of those reading have no idea who I am. Hopefully, some have at least seen me out and about leading an SS Orientation or assisting our staff at equipping events. The majority of what I do for ENP is coordinating Saturday Sports volunteers, leading out SS Orientations, and the planning and paperwork to keep SS organized. However, I also facilitate our Social Emotional hand-drumming program, Beat the Odds, at a couple of schools around Fresno. This is work that, sadly, most people don’t get to witness.

My work journey with ENP, though it feels long, spans not even a year. My personal journey with ENP, however, began back in high school.

Finding ENP

When I first heard about Every Neighborhood Partnership, I was attending youth group at the Well Community Church. My junior year, one of our small group leaders invited us to experience Saturday Sports at Susan B. Anthony. I had heard about Saturday Sports earlier that year at church and instantly loved the idea. What could be better than a Saturday morning spent on recreation, crafts, and games with kiddos from our community? But it wasn’t until my life group leader invited me that I experienced it.

After going, I knew Saturday Sports was something I wanted to do and I wished I could keep coming. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my license. Owning a car was not in my near future, and I didn’t have enough resolve to get my parents to take me.

Getting Plugged In

Fast forward to my senior year of college. I was taking a Community Psychology course with a required “Community Involvement” project. This included volunteering with a local organization, writing a paper on the organization, and then presenting it in class. Immediately, I thought of Saturday Sports. As I did my project on ENP, I found myself agreeing with what they were saying. I saw the principles taught in our class being put into practice. At the end of my paper, I even wrote:

“[ENP] seeks to serve and better our community through the people in our community…Through this project I want to join Every Neighborhood Partnership’s efforts to reach the kids in our community and help them change our community from the bottom up. I think that they are doing a great work in Fresno, and I want to be a part of it.”

I saw the value of what ENP does, and knew their effort was something worth joining.

During the project, I began volunteering at Lane Elementary, a site close to Fresno Pacific. I really only needed to come to Saturday Sports twice to fulfill the 4-hour requirement. But this was something I wanted to be a part of for so long, I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass me by again. I started out as a volunteer, but because there was a need and I was consistent, I stepped into a leadership role quickly. I lead as a volunteer at Lane for about two years before I connected with ENP’s leadership.

Getting Hired

The site lead for Lane is also the founder of another small local nonprofit that leads a lunchtime mentoring program in a handful of elementary schools. Shortly after I graduated he recruited me to help manage and facilitate his program. However, because the nonprofit was so small and fundraising efforts were not enough, I had to get another job.

Coincidentally, ENP had a job opening. Because they knew my history with the other nonprofit and were familiar with my Lane leadership, I got the job. As a Psychology major who obviously loves kids and recreation I was the perfect fit for the Saturday Sports Coordinator in the Recreational Resilience Department.

And so, here I am.

I love my ENP family, the work I get to do, the adults I get to connect to, and the kids I get to play with. I can’t wait for all that God will continue to do through us and in us as we work for His glory!

If you want to talk more about how you can get involved with ENP feel free to email me or go to our Volunteer Page.