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: Patrick Makles

Age: 26

What city are you located in?
Washington, D.C.

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

*Patrick also served as an Up2Us Sports Coach from August 2016 - July 2017 at Soccer Without Borders - Baltimore.

What led you to want to do a service term, particularly right now?
I was motivated to do a service term right now because our country, now more than ever in my lifetime, needs positive leadership to help support and unify all Americans, especially youth who are the most vulnerable.

What does national service mean to you?
National service means bringing people together and learning from one another to help bring positive change to communities across the country.

What is one thing you hope to take away from your 9 weeks of service?
I hope to make a positive impact on at least one other person (a VISTA, staff member, coach, host site supervisor, etc.) and inspire them to continue pursuing the amazing work (in particular, youth development) that they are, and in some cases have been, doing with their current organization(s).

Did you play sports and did It have an impact on why you decided to serve at a youth sports organization?
Yes, I have played sports my entire life and my experience growing and learning from sports has definitely made an impact on why I decided to serve at a youth sports organization.