When Two Ithaca Alumni Meet: How A Passion for Sports Led Candace to VISTA

After graduating from college, Candace Burton knew she didn’t want to go down the traditional path. As a Sports Management major, most opportunities are in sales or a team sport setting and she knew that path wasn’t for her. After briefly working at Row New York and the New York Parks Department, she knew she was interested in the nonprofit space but had no idea how to get her foot in the door. After nearly six months and amidst working multiple part-time jobs, Candace turned to social media with her job-hunting frustrations - an Ithaca College LinkedIn Alumni page to be exact. Call it fate or circumstance or just the power of the internet, but with one response from a fellow alum, Candace was introduced to her perfect path: AmeriCorps VISTA.Bobby Gendimenico, current Up2Us Sports Program Manager in New Orleans, was serving as a VISTA with Up2Us Sports in 2014 when he saw the post on the Ithaca Alumni page that Candace posted. Here is Bobby’s account of what happened:

“I am always excited to see fellow Ithaca College students or alumni interested in the nonprofit field, especially from the Sport Media & Management department, as a lot of it is focused on the business or digital aspect of sport. When I saw her post, I reached out to her about the VISTA program - as I was a VISTA at the time - and let her know that I thought VISTA was a great foot in the door to a career in nonprofits. I explained the stipend process, why I thought the year of service was worth it, and that I was lucky to be doing my VISTA term at Up2Us Sports. I explained that what attracted me to Up2Us Sports in the first place was that I could combine my love of sports with a mission of helping those in need - that I was still involved in the sports field but I felt that I was working for a place that was actually making a difference.”

Both were student-athletes at Ithaca - he was the captain of the men’s swimming and diving team, she played rugby and rowed crew. Being three years apart meant that they had not known one another previously. However, his reply opened Candace’s eyes to the incredible service opportunity that AmeriCorps provided. And service is something Candace is familiar with. “I think it’s really important that everyone give back in whatever way they can. For me, personally, it’s always been really important and I’ve always volunteered from a really young age, whether it was in the soup kitchen at my church or in college when I wrote letters to prisoners at the Alternatives Library at Cornell, I’ve always liked giving back,” shares Candace. So, after learning more about VISTA and applying to be one at Up2Us Sports member organization, Asphalt Green, Candace was interviewed and hired as their Community Programs and Development VISTA starting in September 2015.

During her term, Candace focused on a variety of projects for the organization ranging from large-scale fundraising events to preparing materials for city council meetings. One particular area she is proud of is her work on their large fundraiser, Big Swim Big Kick. She worked to get corporate volunteers to help with the event as well as worked with elite athletes on their participation in the event.  She reflected on how thrilled she was, not only with the overall success of the event, but with her efforts: “it went really smoothly and I remember just being on the pool deck feeling so proud, thinking, ‘oh my gosh I helped make this happen!’” Her confidence in her skills and her ability to contribute were boosted at the event, which set the standard for the rest of her service year.

Towards the end of her year at Asphalt Green, Candace had a decision to make. Stay for another year of VISTA or apply for other jobs. Remarkably, it was a pretty easy decision for her. “I joined AmeriCorps VISTA for a second year because I had a great experience the first time,” Candace says. “There is nothing like working at a nonprofit and seeing the long-term impact you can make in a year.” When the opportunity came up for her to move into a new role as the VISTA Leader with Up2Us Sports, she easily made the decision to sign on for a second year of service. Having heard about what a great organization Up2Us Sports was directly from Bobby, she knew it was somewhere she wanted to work. Additionally, she was drawn to the VISTA Leader position. “I felt like I would be able to gain more in a lot of ways: skills management, people management, event management and things like that. I knew it would be useful later in my career and allow me to just build on what I have already learned at Asphalt Green,” shared Candace.

On August 29, 2016 Candace’s second VISTA service year started at the organization in which her fellow alum was serving his VISTA term when they met via happenstance on LinkedIn. He helped guide her towards her path to AmeriCorps and, ultimately, now to Up2Us Sports. She is looking forward to another year of service, of building relationships and, most importantly, of growing as a person and young professional. “I’m excited for the coming year, I think it’s going to be a good one,” she says.

Ambassador Claressa Shields Makes History with Second Olympic Gold Medal

On Sunday, Up2Us Sports Ambassador Claressa Shields made history by becoming the first American boxer - male or female - to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The Flint, Michigan native beat Netherlands fighter Nouchka Fontijn 3-0 (40-36, 39-37, 39-37) in the middleweight category. A heavy favorite going into Rio, she was given a first round bye before beating Russia’s Yaroslava Yakushina in the quarterfinals and then Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova in the semi-finals.Shields joined Up2Us Sports as an Ambassador in 2014 and has not only been a voice for, but an example of, how a you can succeed when you have an incredible coach in your corner. Learn more about her incredible journey of overcoming the odds and coming out on top by watching T-Rex: Her Fight For Gold, an award-winning documentary of her journey to winning gold in the 2012 London Games. T-Rex is currently showing on PBS’ Independent Lens.

Use #MyCoachTaughtMe to Share Your Story

Up2Us Sports is launching an exciting social media campaign called #MyCoachTaughtMe to build awareness about the powerful role great coaches play in the lives of our nation’s youth.

Follow the steps below to post a brief message on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook describing a powerful lesson learned from one of your favorite coaches or role models.

Up2Us Sports Wins $50,000 in Gatorade Contest

It was announced on July 24th that Up2Us Sports won Round 1 of Gatorade’s For The Love Of SportsTM contest. As the winning nonprofit organization, they will receive a $50,000 donation from Gatorade. The campaign features sponsored athletes Usain Bolt, Elena Delle Donne, Paul George, April Ross and Serena Williams, who are all competing at the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Up2Us Sports won Round 1 of the contest by receiving 42% of total votes received during the six-week open voting period. Competing nonprofits included National Alliance for Youth Sports (40%), PeacePlayers International (10%) and Challenged Athletes Foundation (8%). Up2Us Sports is grateful for the incredible support of their constituents, family, friends and, most importantly, staff, who worked tirelessly to get this victory. With this donation, the national nonprofit will be able to provide more coach-mentors to kids living in some of the most disadvantaged communities across the country.

The contest includes a total of fourteen nonprofits, competing in four rounds, with the winner of each round receiving a $50,000 donation. Additionally, each non-winning charity will receive $5,000, totaling $300,000 in donations towards youth sports organizations fueling the love of sports. The contest ends on November 30th.

Coach Tempest: Squash Provides Relief and Opportunity

Tempest Bowden started at the bottom. Literally. “I grew up in West Philly, in a neighborhood called ‘The Bottom.’ Most people don’t know it was called ‘The Bottom’ because of where it was located in relation to a river, but a lot of people call it ‘The Bottom’ because it was the hood - it was the ghetto. It was a hard life. As a kid, you are kind of blind to it and don’t see it, but I grew up in that.” Tempest and her younger sister, Quineta, grew up poor and often didn’t have lights or gas or food.

By the age of 12, Tempest had entered a very rebellious stage. She shares, “I was not really good with adult figures because I was used to my mom making empty promises and I didn’t trust anybody. It was rough.” Enter Julie Williams, [now former] Executive Director of SquashSmarts - a nonprofit, after-school program that supports kids on the court and in the classroom. Williams introduced the sport of squash to Tempest in her gym class. “Squash was one thing that helped me to gain some sort of balance. A place where I could go and relieve stress because I didn't understand my life. Sometimes being hungry was frustrating and going to squash practice to get that frustration out and get a snack at the same time was really good.” Squash had become her outlet.

Tempest spent almost every day in the program for six years. In the fall of 2009, she headed to Mount Holyoke College, where she continued to play squash at the NCAA Division-III level. After a series of tragedies, Tempest left Mount Holyoke and returned home. She didn’t know what she should do next, until she discovered City Year. “It was the most amazing experience I ever had because that’s when I knew I wanted to work with kids. Immediately, I knew I needed to work with kids, especially inner-city kids.”

On a return visit to SquashSmarts in 2015, and six years after leaving as a student at the organization, Tempest was offered a role as a Coach Across America coach. To begin her service as a Coach Across America coach, she attended the Up2Us Sports National Coach Training Institute in Boston. There, coaches are taught how to coach sports and teach life skills, in what is called sports-based youth development (SBYD). They are trained how to work specifically with children who come from disadvantaged communities and who have, or are, experiencing high levels of stress and trauma in their lives - something that hit close to home for Tempest.

“My favorite part of the training is the day we talked about the brain, the impact of stress and how sport can be that perfect outlet for kids to become their better selves”

“My favorite part of the training is the day we talked about the brain, the impact of stress and how sport can be that perfect outlet for kids to become their better selves,” she shared. She knows squash has helped her become her better self. “The more I played squash and pushed myself I knew I was not going to be done with squash. I knew I was going to be doing it for my life. Honestly, it’s the most consistent thing in my life.”

Tempest left the training with a strong desire to keep working hard and improving as a coach. “I know squash very well and the training I got with Up2Us Sports fine tuned everything that I needed to be the coach I am today. Learning how to be a trauma-sensitive coach, learning about the High Impact Attributes, things like that really helped me to connect with my kids on a greater level.”

On June 15, 2016, Up2Us Sports honored Tempest as the Coach of the Year at their annual Gala in New York City. On July 31, 2016, Tempest will finish her one-year term as a Coach Across America coach, but her time with SquashSmarts will not end. She will continue as a full-time employee, serving as the Director of Squash and Fitness for their middle school program.

“2016 has been an amazing year for me. It really opened my eyes to my potential. People used to tell me all the time, ‘Tempest, you have so much potential!’ and I didn't believe them. I would just play [squash] and that was my thing. Now I can see it and I feel it. It feels really good to have that feeling, to know that you are doing something positive. It really pushes you to be your best self.”

It certainly sounds like Tempest has made her way from “The Bottom” to the top.