Today, on what would have been his 52nd birthday, the Miami Dolphins closed out the fourth annual Football UNITES™ Jason Jenkins Days of Service, a month-long initiative honoring the life, leadership and enduring legacy of Jason Jenkins, the late Dolphins Senior Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs. Jenkins believed deeply in the power of bringing people together through service, and throughout October, the Dolphins family and its community partners came together to carry that mission forward.
This year's initiative focused on high-impact service projects across South Florida. Dolphins players, alumni, cheerleaders and staff, along with executives and staff from Hard Rock Stadium, the Formula 1 Hard Rock Miami Grand Prix, and the Miami Open presented by Itaú joined fans, community organizations and corporate partners – including Kia, Amazon, Northbridge University, Gallagher and Eleven Sports Media – to serve the South Florida community.
Since launching in 2023, the Football UNITES™ Jason Jenkins Days of Service has grown from a single day into a month-long tradition, uniting more than 2,300 volunteers to positively impact more than 181,000 people over four years of the service initiative.
In 2026 alone, more than 650 volunteers took part in 12 community service projects, reaching nearly 65,000 people across South Florida and the communities affected by natural disasters, including those impacted by earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia.
Volunteers at community service projects:
- Inspected, sorted and packed more than 112,000 pounds of food and aid including more than 61,000 meals
- Assembled more than 8,000 hygiene kits and family necessity kits.
- Led cheer workshops and a youth football combine for nearly 200 young athletes.
- Unloaded approximately 770 bags of mulch at Rolling Oaks Park's community gardens in Miami Gardens, which serve about 960 residents each season.
- Beautified The Light Preparatory Academy through planting, gardening and landscaping, positively impacting 250 members of the school community.
The month-long initiative culminated on Oct. 30 at Hard Rock Stadium with a block party-style celebration of Jason's birthday, decorated in Dolphins colors and complete with music, food and service. Alongside Heart & Hand Outreach, community restaurant partner Seed and small business owners through Eleven Sports Media, Dolphins staff and volunteers sorted fresh produce and distributed hot meals to families in need. Volunteers also sorted books to be donated to Books For You Miami and packed hygiene kits for boys in Palm Beach County schools with Talented Teen Club.
"Jason's legacy is in every person who dedicated their time to a service project this month," said Elizabeth Jenkins, wife of Jason Jenkins and Executive Board Chair of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge. "It has been incredible to see the outpouring of support from the Dolphins family and members of our community this past month in his honor. Jason's dream was truly about giving back to the South Florida community, and I love that we have done this every year since his passing"
Jason Jenkins joined the Miami Dolphins in 2009 and dedicated 14 years to serving the South Florida community. Promoted to Senior Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs in 2015, he oversaw marketing, public relations, social media and community efforts for the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Open and Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. Jenkins led several of the organization's most impactful community programs, including the Junior Dolphins youth football program (now Miami Dolphins Academy), the Miami Dolphins Foundation Food Relief Program, the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and Football UNITES™, which he created to bring people together across lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, identity, ability and faith. His leadership and vision for community programming served as a model for the NFL.
