Originally posted on Yahoo! Finance on September 10, 2014.

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Sep 10, 2014) - Up2Us (up2us.org), a national not-for-profit organization leading the movement to promote sports as the solution to the critical challenges facing America's youth, announced today that New York Giants cornerback, Prince Amukamara, has joined the organization as an Ambassador. Amukamara, who has excelled during his three years in the NFL, will connect with youth participating in sports as an Up2Us Ambassador by sharing experiences from his athletic career, how he has overcome obstacles in order to succeed in sports and life, and the important role that sports and mentorship can have on a child.

"Athletics play a bigger role in an individual's life than one may think. It isn't just about physical health and a fun time," said Amukamara. "It's much more than that. I've met coaches, players, trainers, mentors, and many others who have helped shape who I am as a person today, and I can only hope that through my Ambassadorship with Up2Us, that I can give back and serve as a friendly resource for youth who are finding their way in life."

Up2Us trains and places the nation's best and brightest coach-mentors in cities across the country through its Coach Across America program (CAA). These coaches bring sports-based youth development to many underserved communities and help inspire children to make the right choices in life and believe in themselves. CAA coaches understand that every program session, practice or game is an opportunity to teach a lesson that can impact a child's future.

In 2013, approximately 536 CAA coaches served 53,600 kids. After leaving the program, 86 percent of youth surveyed reported a high competence on a set of skills that contribute to healthy decision-making. Among programs that collect academic data, 96 percent of coaches reported that the youth in their programs improved their grades.

"Prince exemplifies everything we believe in at Up2Us, and we couldn't be more excited and thankful to have him on board as an Up2Us Ambassador," said Paul Caccamo, president and founder of Up2Us. "The generation of youth we work with at Up2Us greatly admires athletes like Prince, and the impact Prince will have on these individuals goes beyond teaching them how to throw or catch a football, but helps teach them the importance of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and to remain hopeful."

To learn more about Up2Us and its programs, visit www.Up2Us.org

About Prince AmukamaraPrince Kelechi Amukamara is an American football cornerback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected 19th by the New York Giants in the 2011 NFL Draft. He won his first Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl XLVI with the Giants in 2012. He played college football for the University of Nebraska, and earned All-American honors. Amukamara was born in Massachusetts with both parents native to Nigeria. He attended high school in Arizona, where he excelled most notably in track and field. He is also a devout Christian. Sports Illustrated has described Amukamara as being "physical, possessing solid football speed and top ball skills" and gave him a "first round grade."

About Up2Us
Established in 2010, Up2Us (www.up2us.org) is leading a national movement to advance sports as a solution to the critical challenges facing today's youth, including childhood obesity, academic failure, and youth violence. Up2Us accomplishes its mission by uniting more than 1,000 sports programs that provide life skills development to this nation's most vulnerable youth. In 2010, Up2Us launched Coach Across America (CAA) to provide its member organizations with well-trained, highly effective coaches. CAA is a national program that challenges young adults to give back to their communities through a year of service as coach-mentors. To date, Up2Us has placed more than 1,700 CAA coach-mentors nationwide, reaching over 133,650 children. Up2Us is supported by the Laureus USA Foundation in partnership with Mercedes-Benz USA, Nike Inc., the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

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!