AmeriCorps announced that Up2Us Sports would once again receive critical funding for our national service coach program. Since 2009, AmeriCorps funding has allowed us to train and support over 3,900 coaches to significantly impact the lives of nearly 100,000 young people.
Welcome to a momentous occasion as we celebrate 14 incredible years of Up2Us Sports! Since our inception, we have been committed to empowering young people through the power of sports, national service and mentorship.
We hope you will read our latest Annual Report and we thank you for your support in helping us provide underserved youth with a coach who cares about them. This report covers our 2021-2022 program and fiscal year.
The Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children's Mental Health Innovation Awards—an initiative that aims to identify and fund mental healthcare solutions for children and young adults across the United States—honors a 2022 winner, Up2Us Sports.
Today, January 12th, 2023 is our 13th Anniversary, and we are expecting to have more impact in the year ahead than ever before. We will serve more kids, recruit more coaches, support more VISTAs (front office-based service members) and help more sports-based youth development programs across the country.
On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, Up2Us Sports staff and coaches across the country participated in AmeriCorps’ MLK Day of Service. The Up2Us Coach and VISTA programs are funded by AmeriCorps, so it was only fitting that our terrific service members took this day of service and dedicated it to Dr. King’s honor.
On July 19, Up2Us Ambassador and Tampa native John Henson, a power forward with the Milwaukee Bucks, and a team of Coach Across America (CAA) coaches hosted "The John Henson Experience" at the Tampa Bay Youth Sports Expo. The one-day basketball clinic helped to raise awareness on the importance of youth sports and funds to support the placement of additional CAA coaches in the Tampa Bay area. About 100 local youth participated in the clinic. Up2Us member The Skills Center hosted the Tampa Bay Youth Sports Expo at the Tampa Convention Center. The Expo featured a multitude of interactive sports activities for kids, including hockey, golf, football, lacrosse, baseball, dance, and basketball.
Up2Us Ambassador and Tampa native John Henson of the Milwaukee Bucks, along with a team of coaches from Up2Us’ Coach Across America program, will conduct The John Henson Experience—a one-day basketball clinic at the Tampa Bay Youth Sports Expo on Saturday, July 19th. The clinic will bring awareness to the importance of youth sports programs and raise funds to place Coach Across America coaches in the Tampa Bay area.
100% of proceeds raised from The John Henson Experience will go towards the cost of training and providing Coach Across America jobs to young adults in the Tampa community at The Skills Center—a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization sharing John’s vision of providing academic instruction and life skill development through sports. With your help, we hope to reach our fundraising goal of $30,000, which covers the cost of one full year of programming by two coach-mentors who are trained in youth development, mentoring, and violence prevention strategies. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available for socially-responsible businesses, please contact margote@up2us.org for more information.
By donating, you are directly contributing to positive social change in some of Tampa's most under-served communities. Thank you for your support!
The Second Annual Up2Us Gala was a great success, bringing together more than 300 guests including Hollywood celebrities Heidi Klum, Gretchen Mol, Jonny Lee Miller and Kyle MacLachlan who mingled alongside sports figures such as New York Giants cornerback, Prince Amukamara, Milwaukee Bucks power forward, John Henson and U.S. Olympians Kim Vandenberg and Sarah Hughes. More than 300 guests joined the celebration while raising more than $470,000 to help advance sports as a solution to the critical challenges facing America’s youth – obesity, violence and academic failure. College basketball analyst Bill Raftery emceed the star-studded event, joined by Pro Football Hall of Famer, Curtis Martin who presented the Up2Us Legacy Award to Commissioner Tagliabue. Jay Agresta, President of Benzel-Busch Motor Car Corp, presented the second Up2Us Legacy Award of the evening to Stephen Cannon. The program included a powerful video highlighting the struggle and success of Up2Us’ Coach Across America (CAA) coach Israel Frank. The crowd rose to their feet after the Coach of the Year winner’s moving speech, “Through my training at Coach Across America, I’ve learned to separate the child from the behavior. The kid isn’t bad, he’s just made bad choices,” Coach Israel explained. He added, “I see kids going in the wrong direction like I was, and Up2Us has given me an opportunity to show them the right way. Like the other CAA coaches, I’m someone the kids can relate to and I think that’s what makes Up2Us’ Coach Across America program so effective.”
“Coach Israel’s story is a testament to the power of sports and the important role mentors can play in the lives of young people, especially kids living in underserved communities,” said Paul Caccamo, founder and president of Up2Us. “The support we have received from our friends in the business, entertainment and sports community has been incredible and encouraging. Every day, news reports remind us of the urgent need to advance the SBYD movement and place more coaches like Israel Frank to serve our nation’s most vulnerable youth. We can create real social change through sports and positively impact the lives of millions of children across the country."
Take a look at some of the photos below!
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![[WATCH] Morgan Stanley Innovation Awards Features Up2Us Sports](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58bddd12e58c6278e8a670e2/551e2744-c233-46e6-850d-bac0223d8f13/MHA+Innovation+Feb+2023+1.jpg)
