For the eighth consecutive year, Up2Us Sports has received funding from PennSERVE, Pennsylvania’s state service commission. For the 2023-2024 year, the $230,000 grant will support 13 Up2Us Sports coaches in the North, Northwest, South, and West sections of Philadelphia, as well as economically vulnerable suburbs.

These national service members will be responsible for 1,300 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.

“The partnership between Up2Us Sports and PennSERVE continues to illustrate the power that AmeriCorps service and high-quality sports coaching can play in transforming the lives of youth and communities,” says Jack Callahan, Senior National Director of AmeriCorps Programs. “For the last several years, Up2Us Sports’ coach-mentors have played a critical role throughout Philadelphia helping youth reach their potential and supporting their social, emotional, and physical wellbeing. We look forward to continuing this work alongside PennSERVE.”

As Pennsylvania’s state service commission, PennSERVE is a grantmaking partner of the AmeriCorps agency. AmeriCorps is the federal agency connecting individuals and organizations through service and volunteering to tackle the nation’s most pressing challenges. PennSERVE is a member of America's Service Commissions (ASC), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing and promoting state service commissions across the U.S. Each year, they award approximately $12 million in federal funding from the AmeriCorps agency to AmeriCorps programs in Pennsylvania.

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