NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 11, 2015) - Nonprofit Up2Us Sports renewed their partnership with the Miami HEAT and the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund to support Operation Coach, a workforce assistance program and coaching initiative for returning U.S. military veterans.
The Miami HEAT Charitable Fund donated $100,000 for the second consecutive year to Up2Us Sports for their Operation Coach initiative, which will be overseen by Up2Us Sports' signature program, Coach Across America. Participating veterans will be trained in Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD) and will be placed as youth sports coaches in community programs around Miami.
"I am ecstatic that we are partnering with The Miami HEAT and The Miami HEAT Charitable Fund for a second consecutive year to train a second cohort of U.S. veterans as SBYD certified coaches," said Paul Caccamo, founder and president of Up2Us Sports. "Operation Coach is a way for veterans to positively reintegrate into their community and provides them the opportunity to become long term coach-mentors. Veterans will be able to use the training and their position as a coach to help them reenter the workforce and society as a whole."
Operation Coach is open to returning military veterans who want to reestablish their role and contribute to their communities. The program places veteran coaches in low-income and at-risk communities where youth often lack opportunities for physical activity, support systems, and mentors to help guide them through life. Training veterans in SBYD gives them the opportunity to become mentors for youth who often experience trauma and stress, something they can personally relate to.
The Miami HEAT Charitable Fund hopes the partnership with Up2Us Sports will inspire other professional sports teams to support the organization and the Coach Across America program.
To learn more about Operation Coach and Up2Us Sports, please visit www.Up2Us.org.
About Up2Us Sports
Established in 2010, Up2Us Sports (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 Sports 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 Sports launched Coach Across America (CAA) to provide its member organizations with well-trained, highly effective coaches. CAA is the first national service program that challenges young adults to give back to their communities through a year of service as coach-mentors. To date, Up2Us Sports has placed more than 1,700 CAA coach-mentors nationwide, reaching over 235,000 children. Up2Us Sports is supported by Mercedes-Benz USA, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA, Nike Inc., the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Contact Information:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Mari Escamilla
(310) 341-7352