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: Lindsay Sundberg

Age: 30

What city are you located in?
Hoboken, New Jersey

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 do a service term to learn more about youth sports organization especially one that has reached so many youth throughout the country. With COVID-19 happening it allowed me to put other commitments on hold and take advantage of this service term with Up2Us Sports.

What does national service mean to you?
National service is the chance to give back to the community either at the local or national level and help strengthen the bridges to build strong more cohesive communities.

What is one thing you hope to take away from your 9 weeks of service?
I hope to take a way the passion that the team at Up2Us Sports has doing this work. I don’t think I met with anyone at any point during this summer that did not have high energy and was truly giving all it their all. This energy was contiguous and is needed especially in this space and during these unprecedented times. The work you all are doing daily is not easy, and it is especially not easy in a virtual world. Thank you all for your dedication and commitment to the youth and other organizations throughout this country!

Did you play sports and did It have an impact on why you decided to serve at a youth sports organization?
Yes, I believe sport can be such a powerful tool that anyone can learn many transferable skills that they can carry on to their life as well as open new doors to opportunities. I wanted to serve at a youth sports organization to see today’s youth be able to be involved in sport so they too can learn many of the skills and lessons that I once did.