In September 2019, it was announced that Up2Us Sports was one of 16 national organizations awarded funding as part of the Youth Engagement in Sports: Collaboration to Improve Adolescent Physical Activity and Nutrition (YES) Initiative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and managed by Office of Minority Health (OMH). 

As part of the National Youth Sports Strategy, the HHS Office of Minority Health and the Office on Women’s Health announced $6.7 million in grant awards to 18 communities to promote youth sports participation. The two-year Youth Engagement in Sports: Collaboration to Improve Adolescent Physical Activity and Nutrition (YES) grants, will support local partnerships that offer youth sports and nutrition activities for racial and ethnic minorities, girls, and disadvantaged youth, particularly in areas where few youth programs exist.

Up2Us Sports will use the grant on its Sport-Based Youth Development (SBYD) Creating Opportunities for Adolescents through Coaching, Healthy Eating, and Sports (COACHES) Project, which will be based in New Orleans in partnership with ReNEW Charter Schools and Dr. Jennifer Sacheck from George Washington University. Dr. Sacheck is one of the leading researchers on the topic of physical activity in schools. The goal of the project is to understand the effects of an Up2Us Sports coach on physical activity and other physical health outcomes among 6th and 7th grade students in New Orleans. Up2Us Sports will work with three of ReNEW’s Schools: Scitech Academy, Schaumburg Elementary, and Dolores T. Aaron Academy.

To learn more about the project, contact Win Guan, Research Manager and COACHES Project Director, at wguan@up2ussports.org.