Play It Forward Challenges Young Athletes to Participate in National Day of Service
New York, NY -- January 20, 2009 -- On MLK Day 2009, young athletes across the country kicked off the launch of “Play It Forward” to bring lasting change to their communities.
Timed to coincide with MLK Jr. Day 2009 and President Obama's inauguration, “Play It Forward” is a nationwide campaign encouraging service through sports and celebrating the leaders’ shared passion for community service as well as teamwork, respect, community, empowerment, and tolerance.
“With “Play It Forward”, we’re giving Americans a way to give back and get ahead through sports,” said Paul Caccamo, Up2Us founder and executive director. “There is no better way to demonstrate the important role sports can play in the lives of young Americans than by encouraging them to the spend the day kicking, running, and improving their communities.”
Member groups across the nation met Up2Us’ challenge. From New York City-based E3Sports, which led a day of service as students from PS 158 painted a mural on the schoolyard wall to Algonquin Sports for Kids program Buffalo Soccer Club, which hosted the first annual Martin Luther King Jr. educational workshop and soccer field trip.
In Boston, member group Tenacity honored MLK’s vision for educational equality and worked with 8th graders on their high school applications during the After School Excellence Program, while Youth Enrichment Services hosted the third annual MLK “Going to the Mountain Day” brunch and took more than 150 students to Pats Peak's “Diversity Day” in Lincoln, NH for a discussion and educational forum about the work of MLK, followed by a fun day of skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing.
Waynesville RVI School District and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers along with Partners in Education (PIE) teamed up in Missouri for an MLK “Souptacular” Celebration with the launch of their community-wide soup drive. All soup collected will be donated for the “Snack in a Pack” program at the local food pantry in Waynesville.
To encourage long-term commitment to service through sports, www.Up2Us.org went live on Sunday with everyday opportunities for people to volunteer as coaches or with community sports organizations nationwide.
Images of MLK Day activities can be found here.
About Up2Us
Up2Us is a network of community sports organizations leading a national movement to "redefine" the role athletics plays in young Americans. Its 150+ members aim to use youth sports programs to help young people apply valuable life lessons, make smart choices, and bring real change to their communities.
PRESS RELASE:
Play It Forward Challenges Young Athletes to Participate in National Day of Service
Timed to coincide with MLK Jr. Day 2009 and President Obama's inauguration, “Play It Forward” is a nationwide campaign encouraging service through sports and celebrating the leaders’ shared passion for community service as well as teamwork, respect, community, empowerment, and tolerance.
“With “Play It Forward”, we’re giving Americans a way to give back and get ahead through sports,” said Paul Caccamo, Up2Us founder and executive director. “There is no better way to demonstrate the important role sports can play in the lives of young Americans than by encouraging them to the spend the day kicking, running, and improving their communities.”
Member groups across the nation met Up2Us’ challenge. From New York City-based E3Sports, which led a day of service as students from PS 158 painted a mural on the schoolyard wall to Algonquin Sports for Kids program Buffalo Soccer Club, which hosted the first annual Martin Luther King Jr. educational workshop and soccer field trip.
In Boston, member group Tenacity honored MLK’s vision for educational equality and worked with 8th graders on their high school applications during the After School Excellence Program, while Youth Enrichment Services hosted the third annual MLK “Going to the Mountain Day” brunch and took more than 150 students to Pats Peak's “Diversity Day” in Lincoln, NH for a discussion and educational forum about the work of MLK, followed by a fun day of skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing.
Waynesville RVI School District and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers along with Partners in Education (PIE) teamed up in Missouri for an MLK “Souptacular” Celebration with the launch of their community-wide soup drive. All soup collected will be donated for the “Snack in a Pack” program at the local food pantry in Waynesville.
To encourage long-term commitment to service through sports, www.Up2Us.org went live on Sunday with everyday opportunities for people to volunteer as coaches or with community sports organizations nationwide.
Images of MLK Day activities can be found here.
About Up2Us
Up2Us is a network of community sports organizations leading a national movement to "redefine" the role athletics plays in young Americans. Its 150+ members aim to use youth sports programs to help young people apply valuable life lessons, make smart choices, and bring real change to their communities.