We were lucky to catch up with Jasmine McKinney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jasmine, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
I believe that my generosity comes from love. I truly love and appreciate everyone and everything. I want to help others, which may be in the form of a gift, advice, time, a listening ear, encouragement, etc. I’ve always had a passion for helping others as a child and as I grew so did my passion. I am very blessed, and I have more than enough to give. Throughout life, I’ve learned who to help. I don’t just go out giving everyone money, or my time. I help people who truly want to better themselves. I want to see people doing great and will do what I can to help in any way.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the founder and CEO of The Step Up Program. We’re a nonprofit organization in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our mission is to provide the necessary resources to help the homeless community, get back on their feet. I started this organization in June of 2020, and we’ve impacted so many lives. I am grateful to have met so many beautiful people. I absolutely love the work that I do. Our nonprofit focuses on helping homeless women and families. What’s special about The Step Up Program is that we get down to the root cause of homelessness. There are many different factors that can cause people to become homeless. Our goal for this year is to open up a new transitional home. We offer a holistic approach; we want to heal people from the inside out. We believe in practicing mindfulness, eating healthy, and self-awareness. We want to teach people the necessary life skills that they will need in order to succeed in life after graduating from our program. I am super excited about what the future has in store for us.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The willingness to learn has played a huge role in my journey. Being resilient and not giving up has also played a major role. But my passion is what drives me. Having these qualities has helped me on my journey. The advice that I would give to people is to make sure that this is something that you are truly passionate about. Do the necessary research and continue to be a student. Focus on becoming better every day and execute!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Whenever I feel overwhelmed or feel like it’s way too much going on and I just don’t know what to do. I hit the reset button. I like to come home, light some candles, and take a nice long bath. As I’m taking my bath I am also praying and asking for guidance and the strength to figure things out. At that point I’m at peace so by the time I get out of the bathtub I usually have the answers I need. So, with that being said, I think that people have to ask for some assistance through prayer or meditation and be still enough to receive the answers.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.thestepupprogram.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestepupprogram/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSUPPSC
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-mckinney-678998265/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TSUPPSC
- Other: My Children’s Books https://a.co/d/7FcBJDD https://a.co/d/bGopDTt
