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: Abhinav Agnani

Age: 21

What city are you located in?
Seattle, Washington

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?
I wanted to help youth given the current climate and sports have always been a major part of my life so this seemed perfect.

What does national service mean to you?
I believe national service is important because it provides a unique opportunity to serve at organizations on a long-term basis and also provides structure that may not be present through simply volunteering.

What is one thing you hope to take away from your 9 weeks of service?
I hope to gain skills in as many facets of nonprofit work as possible (marketing, fundraising, development, etc). Also, I hope to hone my leadership skills as well.

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 soccer since I was 3 and it has influenced my growth very much. I wanted to help other kids have a sport which plays a similar role in their lives and Up2Us Sports seemed like an ideal opportunity to do so.