A Special Birthday Wish…

All of us celebrate government when it makes smart investments that result in the betterment of all of our lives.  Great examples of this have been the Internet, our GPS systems, micro-chips, and even the vaccines that keep us healthy. In the same vein, I say we celebrate AmeriCorps.

Just think about it. Talented adults are teaching in thousands of schools because of AmeriCorps.  Millions of children are receiving health and nutrition education because of AmeriCorps.  Millions of seniors receive emotional support because of AmeriCorps.  Disaster sites like New Orleans are rebuilt again because of AmeriCorps.  And now, sports is being revived in inner cities because of AmeriCorps.

This week, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps: one of our federal government's major success stories.   We need to recognize that AmeriCorps has often provided the seed money to “great ideas” that we have since taken for granted as they have become the fabric of our American lives.

My own program, Up2Us, was based on a simple idea: a coach can be the most transformative adult in a child’s life, especially children who are in underserved communities and lack adult role models. AmeriCorps provided me the opportunity to hire and train my first coaches in 2009.  Since then, thanks to public-private partnerships, I’ve hired more than 1,700 coaches who have committed themselves to serving more than 133,650 at-risk youth in more than 60 different sports.  This simple idea has had powerful results: our trained coaches can reduce violence by up to 40% in urban communities.  Our trained coaches can lead to significant increases in physical activity that reduces the risk of obesity.  And, our trained coaches have helped youth in the worst performing schools to refocus their energy into educational pathways that lead to college and successful careers.  And now, thanks to AmeriCorps, my program is ready to take the innovative training we have developed for our coaches and make it available to the estimated 6.5 million volunteer coaches who want to be more effective at teaching life skills to their teams.

Up2Us is just one example of the power of AmeriCorps has to light a spark that impacts a nation.

Happy 20th Anniversary, AmeriCorps.  When I Google “national service" on the the internet, I will smile broadly at how many of the 52 million results were made possible by you!   And, I’ll smile also knowing that Google was made possible by our federal government, too.

Paul Caccamo

Executive Director and Founder, Up2Us

Donate to Bring Coaches to Tampa!

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!

Click here to support.

Ride This Way: an Up2Us Film

Greatness often manifests in the face of adversity. Israel Frank, Up2Us Coach Across America (CAA) coach at Brotherhood Crusade Soccer for Success Program, is a true testament to this statement.

Initially, Israel's goals were to obtain his GED, secure employment, and change his life trajectory. With the assistance of his case manager, Israel attended work readiness classes at the YouthSource Center. After demonstrating significant mastery of vocational skills, Israel secured a seasonal job at Vans. Combined with a sincere desire to improve the quality of life for young people, this experience prepared Israel for his CAA appointment.

Check out our video to hear Israel's story and to learn just what makes him Up2Us' Coach Across America Coach of the Year.

Chicago Service Day

On May 3rd, Up2Us teamed up  with the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Housing Authority and the White Sox Volunteer Corps for a community wellness day at Wentworth Gardens. The day was designed to encourage health, wellness and fitness, and included multiple stations designed and activated by our Chicago coaching corp.

The Chicago White Sox not only sent awesome volunteers to help with registration and food service for the day but South Paw, the team mascot, joined to take pictures and toss some pitches at the baseball station.  Every person that attended the event and participated in different stations also received a complimentary voucher to an upcoming White Sox game.  We had nearly 300 participants throughout the event day and were able to spread health and wellness and make some incredible new partners.

A special thanks to Alderman Pat Dowell, The Athena Dental Group, Progressive Baptist Church, UIC-Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion, UIC-YWLCS Health & Wellness Center, E&ES (a partner of the Chicago Housing Authority), and Beggars Pizza who were all important partners in making the day a success.

"The Up2Us Field Day is a great example of how neighbors and community based organizations can work together to create safe and healthy spaces for everyone to enjoy.  I am pleased to be a part of this event because it celebrates the wonderful families that make up this community,” said Alderman Pat Dowell.

Operation Coach Sponsored By the Miami HEAT

Up2Us is proud to announce a partnership with the Miami HEAT and the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund to launch Operation Coach, a workforce assistance and coaching initiative for post 9/11 returning military veterans, preparing them for a career in sports and youth development through our Coach Across America program. During half time of Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund presented Up2Us with a $100,000 donation as the result of the team’s annual fundraising efforts.   This contribution will provide veterans with the opportunity to gain employment as coach-mentors and continue to serve as every day heroes to thousands of youth in Miami.

“Veterans often cite ‘physical activity’ and ‘becoming a coach’ as key motivators to their reentry to the workforce,” said Paul Caccamo, founder and president of Up2Us.

The Miami HEAT has a tradition of honoring the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces and we are extremely excited to continue this partnership.

Mission Continues & Up2Us host an SBYD Fair!

Mission Continues Platoon Members, Coach Across America coaches and the youth of Henry Street Settlement all converged on Saturday, February 8th for an afternoon of fitness activities, nutrition sessions and fun. CAA coaches and platoon members worked together to educate youth on a variety of topics related to sports-based youth development, including the science of physical activity, nutrition and life skills.

At one station, participants made Compliment Boards for each other, where they wrote a nice thing about each person in the group.

Coach Across America coaches and Mission Continues Veteran Fellows talk to youth about the importance of physical fitness.

At the nutrition station, youth were running towards the cones that represented healthy foods while avoiding the cones that represented junk food.

Nancy shows off her compliment board.

Apply for a CAA Coach Today!

If you are interested in hosting coaches through our CAA program to help build capacity at your organization and serve more youth, please complete the application below.  Up2Us provides its member organizations with the resources and support to select and manage coaches through our CAA program to work with youth in our nation's most under-resourced communities.  CAA is a workforce development program that contracts with Up2Us members to act as host sites for CAA coaches.  Beyond financial assistance for coach wage/stipend, CAA supports member organizations to recruit, train, and supervise CAA coaches that serve in their respective programs. Apply here

If in Tampa, Miami, & New Orleans, click here!