For the fifth consecutive year, Up2Us Sports has received funding from PennSERVE, Pennsylvania’s state service commission. For the 2020-2021 year, the $152,000 grant will support 20 Up2Us Sports coaches in the North, Northwest, South, and West sections of Philadelphia, as well as economically vulnerable suburbs such as Coatesville, Chester, and Pottstown.

These national service members will be responsible for 1,600 young people served in a variety of athletic and holistic educational development activities that are designed to improve physical fitness and social dexterity, with the ultimate goal of leveraging these improvements to better themselves and their community.

Since 2016, PennSERVE has provided grants for 79 service members, who have served 13,634 youth throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

“The partnership between PennSERVE and Up2Us Sports and our 11 local community partners provides a meaningful opportunity for caring adult mentors to serve their country and community and make a difference in the lives of young people,” says Hillery Gladden, National Director, Up2Us Coach. “Sports-based youth development is vital to the health and growth of youth in Pennsylvania especially during the era of COVID-19 and in the light of the current social justice movement.”

PennSERVE is Pennsylvania’s state service commission. State service commissions were created in the National and Community Service Trust Act as amended in 1993. State service commissions are governor-appointed public agencies or nonprofit organizations made up of more than 1,200 commissioners - volunteers leading the nation's philanthropic and service movement. The nation’s 52 state service commissions operate at the state and local level granting more than $252 million from federal national service funds while matching these federal dollars with over $300 million from state and local sources to support service and volunteerism in America. These funds support more than 40,000 AmeriCorps members.

PennSERVE is a grantee of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency that helps millions of Americans improve the lives of their fellow citizens through service. Working hand in hand with local partners, CNCS taps the ingenuity and can-do spirit of the American people to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing our nation.

We are currently actively recruiting coaches and host sites throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. If you are interested in becoming a coach-mentor or hosting a coach in your community, please contact hgladden@up2ussports.org or dbolden@up2ussports.org.