Up2Us VISTA
About Our Program
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) is a federal grant program under the umbrella of AmeriCorps. Up2Us Sports began supporting a VISTA program in 2010 to provide capacity-building service members to SBYD programs within our membership network, as well as internally. In the summer of 2020, with AmeriCorps’ focus on helping programs through the COVID-19 pandemic, Up2Us Sports began supporting a VISTA Summer program.
Are you an alumni of our Up2Us VISTA program? We’d love to connect! Learn more here.
FULL YEAR VISTA Program REACH
24 (20-49)
MEDIAN AGE
587
VISTAS PLACED
60% / 38% / 2%
GENDER (feMALE/MALE/non-binary)
55.3%
VISTAs SERVING IN THEIR COMMUNITY
PROGRAM IMPACT
$13,693**
EST. SAVINGS FOR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS PER VISTA
*Above numbers accurate as of June 6, 2024
**Citation: AmeriCorps and Senior Corps: Quantifying the Impact, July 2020
VISTA TABLE TALK SERIES
VISTA Table Talk is a virtual series hosted by Up2Us Sports where we provide an opportunity for our AmeriCorps VISTA members to come together to discuss the work they’re doing and the impact their organizations are making. The goal of VISTA is to provide organizations with capacity building AmeriCorps members to support organizations' mission to alleviate poverty.
View all recorded episodes below, on our VISTA Table Talk Series YouTube Playlist, on our Up2Us VISTA IGTV Channel or the Up2Us Sports Spotify Channel.
VISTA Table Talk is a virtual series hosted by Up2Us Sports where we provide an opportunity for our VISTA members to come together to discuss the work they’re doing and the impact their organizations are making. The goal of VISTA is to provide organizations with capacity building AmeriCorps members to support organizations' mission to alleviate poverty. On this episode Tan Flint leads us in a conversation along with Up2Us Summer VISTA Ben Huges and Eastern Tennessee State University Esports Production Coordinator Leigh Nutter, as they discuss Esports, its origins and how it's transitioned from a hobby to a mainstream sport. They also discuss how youth sports leaders can make Esports more accessible to get youth involved with Esports.
VISTA Table Talk is a virtual series hosted by Up2Us Sports where we provide an opportunity for our VISTA members to come together to discuss the work they’re doing and the impact their organizations are making. The goal of VISTA is to provide organizations with capacity building AmeriCorps members to support organizations' mission to alleviate poverty. On this episode Jensen Wolfe leads us in a conversation with Summer VISTAs Meg Wilson and Andrea Jimenez as they discuss their experience with running and how Girls on the Run - NYC and Students Run LA are using running as a vehicle for change in youth sports.
VISTA Table Talk is a virtual series hosted by Up2Us Sports where we provide an opportunity for our VISTA members to come together to discuss the work they’re doing and the impact their organizations are making. The goal of VISTA is to provide organizations with capacity building AmeriCorps members to support organizations' mission to alleviate poverty. On this episode Robinson Rodriguez leads us in a conversation with Up2Us Summer VISTA members Jensen Wolfe and Tan Flint along with Dr. Gabriel Pagan-Llorens on how they learned from losing games and how those defeats were ultimately beneficial.
VISTA Stories from the Blog
The Up2Us Sports VISTA team hosted a September 11 Virtual Day of Service on Monday, September 9 honoring and remembering those lost and those impacted by the attacks of September 11, 2001.
AmeriCorps will lead the celebration of AmeriCorps Week 2024 during the agency’s 30th anniversary. The theme, AmeriCorps is not a moment, it’s a movement, demonstrates the hundreds of thousands of members and volunteers, and the millions of alumni, who have committed to get things done for America for the past three decades.
Each January, MENTOR unites communities for National Mentoring Month. We are proud to join MENTOR by amplifying the voices of three of our AmeriCorps service members this month.
Between January 11th and January 17th, 2024, Up2Us Sports staff, VISTAs and coaches across the country participated in AmeriCorps’ MLK Day of Service.
The Up2Us Sports Coach and VISTA teams spent Monday, September 11 and Tuesday, September 12 honoring and remembering those lost and those impacted by the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader Tyree Beard talks to fellow Summer VISTAs Emily, Berronte, Sophia and Benito - all current or former athletes who share common experiences - to share what sports has taught them.
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader Maria Sandoghdar Montero talks to fellow Summer VISTA Ahyleen Meneses about experience as a participant, and now a VISTA member serving at Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA).
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader Jayla Bynum reflects on how access to sports from a young age helped guide her to where she is today and where she sees her future. Jayla is a Division-1 athlete at the University of Maryland.
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader Kayla Thorpe talks to Summer VISTA Andrew Viereck about his summer serving at Collegium Charter School in Exton, PA, where he opened up about his goals for the summer and his future.
Up2Us Sports VISTA Leader Rebecca Reyes talks to the six Summer VISTA Cohort Leaders about their backgrounds and what they’ve learned so far in their positions.
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader Tan Pham talks to Summer VISTA Sammy Overton about his summer serving at Can Play, where the work he does focuses on three main ideas: Inclusion, Community, and Play.
Summer VISTA Cohort Leader Olivia Smith talks to Summer VISTAs Catherine Tamarelli and Jayla Bynum, who both have a long history with sports, about the impact of Title IX.
Up2Us Sports Program Marketing VISTA Amelia Smollens has served as a volunteer coach at Adaptive Sports Foundation for the past 6 years. In January 2023, she was named their Volunteer Coach of the Month and featured in their newsletter.
Each June during Pride Month, Up2Us Sports celebrates and elevates the valuable contributions of our LGBTQ+ coaches, VISTAs, youth, staff and the broader community. We reaffirm our commitment to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in their ongoing struggle against discrimination and injustice.
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.
With November being National Career Development Month, we wanted to highlight the work that Up2Us Sports has been doing through our Career Readiness program and hear from one of our full-time staff members, Brandon Pack.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how Chance York found yoga in his time of need and is expanding it to communities across the Twin Cities.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Hear from three of them.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how the VISTAs Emma and Jamie are helping make the Miami Marlins Foundation a special place.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how Neiko Foster spent his summer supporting Beat the Streets Cleveland.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how the COVID-19 pandemic drew Kevin Sheft to public service.
Our Up2Us Sports Coach and VISTA teams spent Monday, September 12, 2022 honoring and remembering those lost and those impacted by September 11, 2001.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how Nina Polk has learned how to use social media to spotlight native lacrosse.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how Eli Miller has used his service term to support youth through rowing, while also growing himself.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn how Lake Sheffield joined her mother as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Up2Us Sports to grow her experience and give back.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn about Amanda Kaufman and how her VISTA terms have helped prepare her for graduate school.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Learn about Taylor Bradley and how sports has helped her find her future.
Many of our AmeriCorps Summer VISTAs have been playing sports their entire lives. They’ve decided to dedicate their summer to service and give back to the sports community that helped shape them as athletes. Hear from three of them.
National Boys and Girls Club week was June 25th-July 1st. This week honors all of the great work that each club does in communities across the country and we’re proud to partner with clubs nationwide.
Our Up2Us Sports coaches and VISTAS give back to their communities, but their achievements and impact do not stop at the end of their service terms. The Alumni Spotlight series shines a light on service members and their experiences.