Championing children through love and volleyball
Coach Danni Jenkins (far left) and her Colorado Volleyball Association team all smiles after winning a recent tournament.
If you have come across Danni Jenkins, odds are you have found a friend for life.
Danni is a Colorado native, having grown up in Parker. She began playing volleyball in fourth grade and continued the sport through Chaparral High School and on to the University of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Today, she calls The Canyons home.
“Castle Pines is a mix of near and far. We have deer in our backyard and yet we are minutes from Park Meadows Mall,” said Danni. “We love the local library and have met so many friends at The Exchange’s craft night and at the neighborhood pool.”
Danni has an outgoing, charismatic 3-year-old daughter, and is welcoming daughter number two this month. It seems only fitting, as Danni has devoted her life to children.
Danni began her career in the social service, child protection field in Colorado. For nine years, she helped children in out-of-home – foster and group home – placement. It was extremely difficult, she noted. “There is so much secondary trauma working with families in the middle of crisis, abuse and neglect.”
The work was important, but after nearly a decade of handling heartbreak, Danni chose to carry that knowledge and experience into the classroom at Green Mountain Elementary in Jefferson County.
“I realized for some children, school is the only safe space they have, an escape from a tough reality at homes, and I wanted to give them hope,” Danni shared. “My passionate belief is that every child deserves to have an adult who whole heartedly champions for them; teachers become that champion.”
Danni worked at the elementary school from 2015 until this past year, when the school shuttered after losing student enrollment.
Throughout her career, volleyball has been a constant in Danni’s life. She knows how volleyball can be a life changer. She has been coaching for 17 years – the past 11 years at a competitve level with Colorado Volleyball Assocation in Englewood.
“Volleyball has taught me how to work hard, harder at times than I ever thought possible. It has brought me almost every meaningful friendship I have,” shared Danni. She added that the game is not necessarily about the score, win or lose, but life lessons learned.
“I coach to see girls become supporters of other girls – young women who know how to set goals, have confidence to be challenged, and the work ethic to make their dreams come true,” she concluded.
Something so very important to this soon-to-be mom of two daughters.
Danni and daughter Quincee on a recent vacation to Bermuda.
By Karen Leigh; photos courtesy of Danni Jenkins
