On Monday, June 29, Up2Us Sports officially welcomed 180 Summer VISTAs to the 2020 Up2Us Sports Summer VISTA Program. 180 VISTAs started their nine-week service term at 100 nonprofit organizations nationwide. Their term will end on Friday, August 28th.

15 of the 180 VISTAs have been serving internally at Up2Us Sports in various capacities. We are excited to have this group of ambitious service members help our team across the nation, which will in turn help us better serve our 1,700+ member organizations, 470+ host sites and 250+ coaches in the days and months ahead.

We wanted you to get to know the 15 VISTAs who have spent their summer helping grow the capacity of Up2Us Sports from within.

Name: Charlotte Bleemer

Age: 23

What city are you located in?
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

What department within Up2Us Sports are you serving in?
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader

What led you to want to do a service term, particularly right now?
Life under the threat of COVID-19 has challenged everyone in our communities, but the ones affected the most are kids. During crucial developmental stages of life the schools, sports, and creative outlets that they rely on are being taken away from them. I'm proud to join AmeriCorps VISTA and Up2Us Sports' work seeking to minimize the negative effects of the COVID-19 shutdown on kids' development and quality of life in our most underserved communities.

What does national service mean to you?
I've always liked the expression "think globally, act locally." Though we should always maintain a global perspective and seek to learn about economic inequality across the world, we make the most impact when we serve within our own communities.

What is one thing you hope to take away from your 9 weeks of service?
I hope to learn all that I can from the experts at Up2Us Sports and hopefully do my part to assist the 100+ organizations who's work is supported by Up2Us Sports this Summer. It's rare to see a youth development organization with the national impact and scope of Up2Us Sports. Instead of decreasing their projects because of COVID-19, Up2Us Sports expanded them, ensuring that our host sites had capacity building and financial support when they needed it most.