About
Up with People
Up with People (UWP) was founded by J. Blanton Belk in 1965 as a positive voice for young people during a turbulent period in the United States. More than 21,000 young men and women from more than 102 countries have come together to travel in 180 casts to deliver a common message of hope and goodwill to people around the world, and pursue their own global education and personal growth goals through service, music and travel. UWP has visited more than 4,000 communities in 42 countries. Over 3 million hours of community service have been performed by UWP students. An estimated 22 million people worldwide have been directly impacted by UWP.
UWP International Alumni Association
Founded in 1989, the Up with People International Alumni Association provides a framework through which Up with People alumni can build productive networks; participate in activities; foster mutually-beneficial communication, collaboration and support among alumni; and impact the ongoing mission of Up with People. All individuals who were accepted into the Up with People program and who completed staging/orientation, who have traveled as a cast member or served as staff member of Up with People or WorldSmart, who were in any national traveling cast of Sing Out, or who were on the staff of PACE magazine are members of the association.
UWP 80B Facebook Group
Remarkably, 73 of our original cast of 100, is on Facebook and connected with a unique Facebook Group. If you aren't part of this group and want to be, please send an email using the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Also, Monica Wilfong is our Cast B representative to the Up With People International Alumni Association (UWPIAA). If you have a question or an idea for UWPIAA, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page and I will route your email to Monica.
Michael Curnes
Webmaster's Notes
It is an honor for me to be the unofficial keeper of the Cast B 80-81Internet archive as well as curate the UWPClassics YouTube Channel. This cast website does cost just under $10 per month to register the domain name and secure website hosting. I am pleased to sponsor these costs for two years through July 2019. It would be smart to have a webmaster redundancy plan and nice to have additional "sponsors" so if anyone would be interested in co-hosting or sponsoring this website beginning July 2019 or being a backup curator for the UWPClassics YouTube Channel, please reach out.