For the ninth consecutive year, Up2Us Sports has received funding from Serve Illinois, Illinois’ state service commission. For the 2024-2025 year, the $378,999 grant will support 23 Up2Us Sports coaches around the city of Chicago with an emphasis on economically vulnerable communities of the South and West Side. Since 2015, Serve Illinois has provided grants for 202 AmeriCorps service members through Up2Us Sports.

This cohort of national service members is targeted to serve 800 youth and engage them in athletic and mentorship activities that are designed to improve their physical health and develop social-emotional learning skills that will help them achieve their potential on and off the playing field.

"Through our partnership with Serve Illinois, Up2Us Sports is making the case that highly-trained coach-mentors can truly change the world,” says Jack Callahan, Senior National Director of AmeriCorps Programs. “For the better part of a decade, Up2Us Sports coaches have provided mentorship services to youth living in Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods while expanding the capacity of nonprofit organizations across the city. We look forward to another year of impact and being in service to our communities.”

The Serve Illinois Commission is a 40-member (25 voting and 15 non-voting), bi-partisan board appointed by the Governor and administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services. The enabling legislation of the Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (Serve Illinois) promotes, partners, and supports community service in public/private programs, while stimulating new volunteerism/community service initiatives to meet the needs of Illinois citizens. Within the Illinois Department of Human Services, we serve as a resource advocate for community service agencies, volunteers and programs which utilize State and private volunteers. Serve Illinois oversees all aspects of program administration and training for the Illinois AmeriCorps program, which provides trained, dedicated individuals to help non-profit organizations and other governmental agencies accomplish their missions and make more effective use of volunteers. To learn more, visit www.Serve.Illinois.gov

We are currently actively recruiting coaches and host sites nationwide. If you are interested in becoming a coach-mentor or hosting a coach in Chicago or its surrounding communities, please contact Frank Nares at fnares@up2ussports.org.