OUR STORY

WE CHEERED FOR GOOD.

Founded in 2020 in response to the global quarantine and shut down of the sport of Cheerleading, our four founders, Ava Cassilli, Mackenzie Jennings, Alessia Velazquez and Sofia Cordaro, were 15 year old New Jersey high school cheerleaders who stayed true to their mission to Cheer up and Cheer on during this crisis.

By realizing that some days you have to create your own “sparkle” and “shine”, other teams caught the Project CheerUP! spirit and started doing the same in their own communities. In only 5 months this “spirit movement” spread nationally – invigorating and uniting cheerleaders of all ages – trying to “CheerUP! The World”. Creating personalized video “Cheer Grams”, our “CheerUP! Squad” sent out hundreds of grams to healthcare staff, first responders, essential workers, nursing homes, and just about anyone who needed to be “cheered up” during that time.

Grams evolved into parades for local heroes and our girls used their social media following to help drive traffic to struggling local businesses. The Project CheerUP! has now evolved into a National movement, inspiring the hashtags #LeadersWhoCheer, #CheerForGood and #CheerleadersUnited.

OUR FOUNDERS KNEW HOW TO SHINE BRIGHT.

Meet the four new jersey cheerleaders who created their own sparkle and shine during a global pandemic.

We're Growing!

The Project CheerUP! Foundation was born.

Established 2021, the Mom's of our founders keep the mission alive.

From left to right: Lisa and Ava Cassilli, Andi and Mackenzie Jennings, Therese and Sofia Cordaro, Gaetana and Alessia Velazquez

“It began with a simple idea to figure out a way to use cheerleaders to cheer people up in our hometown, but instead, inspired an entire cheer community to get involved and it spread like wildfire. We have now put together the best leadership team to continue what these high school kids started and I am honored to be part of it. The work ethic and serious enthusiasm from our leadership team will no doubt, work tirelessly to do the unthinkable – to CheerUP! the World. “ – Executive Director, Andi Jennings