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.
All across the world, sport can be used as a vehicle for connecting individuals, promoting positive traditions, and empowering communities. In honor of International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, celebrated on April 6th, we asked Up2Us VISTAs: “How can sports be used as a tool for promoting peace?”
The past year has been one of immense heartache and sadness. Through it all, however, a dedicated group of people have answered the call to serve: AmeriCorps Members. They all answered the call for different reasons, but the overall goal was to give back and put their neighbors first to help heal the country, despite all of the obstacles happening around them.
John Bilbai graduated from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 2019, and returned to his home city in Los Angeles to kick off his career in the nonprofit sector. Given that John’s background and experience is in professional strategic relations, it was no surprise that he ended up in the marketing field in Los Angeles.
One of our incredible VISTA features is Katelan Newman, who is doing her service year at South Bronx United. She’s a proud South Bronx native, so her service quite literally ‘hits home.’ SBU was founded in just 2009, and since then, has been focusing on serving at-risk and immigrant youth to “build character, teamwork, and leadership skills so that they can achieve success in high school, college, their careers and communities, and beyond” through soccer.”
On February 4th, Up2Us VISTA members joined a Zoom meeting to discuss the book “A Girl with More Than One Heart” by Laura Geringer Bass. “A Girl with More Than One Heart” follows Briana after the death of her father. Through her grief, Briana imagines a new heart growing inside of her which speaks with her dad’s voice. In the book, her “dad voice” compels her to take actions like “find her,” “move,” and “let go.” While reading, I thought not only about the process of grieving but also about my experiences of home, love, and friendship.
January is a month of new beginnings. At Up2Us Sports, our VISTA members continue their commitment to supporting sports-based youth development organizations and strengthening communities. To take time for reflection, we asked VISTAs: “What are your professional goals for the coming year?”
Here are some ways they strive to grow their host sites and themselves:
AmeriCorps VISTA members come from all walks of life. Some are newly college graduates looking to gain some work experience. Others are matured professionals looking to switch careers. The bulk of them are in it to volunteer their skills in an effort to reduce economic disparities. For Emily, that is exactly what she was looking to get out of the experience - an opportunity to launch a meaningful career.
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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)
![[WATCH] Be The Greater Good Live: National Service Through Sports w/ Up2Us Sports](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58bddd12e58c6278e8a670e2/1610638967253-59YYYKHOPKB6JU0RGKF4/Americorps_Stackedlogo_Navy.jpg)
