Penn State’s chapter of Uplifting Athletes continued to make a difference in a big way this past weekend as the 15th annual ‘Lift for Life’ raising over $95,000 to benefit Uplifting Athletes and its commitment to rare disease research.
The 15-year total for “Lift for Life” is now nearly $1.3 million having started in 2003 raising *just* $13,000 in the inaugural year. The program was first headed by then Nittany Lion teammates Scott Shirley, Dave Costlow and Damone Jones.
As of Tuesday morning, Penn State football student-athletes have $95,089.98 for Uplifting Athletes and its commitment to life skills development, patient focused programs and rare disease research. Donations to the Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes and Lift for Life will remain open until September 30. Fans can track the live total or donate by visiting the chapter’s fundraising site at https://pledgeit.org/team/psu-lift-for-life-2017
With the $95,090 in contributions from this year, nearly $1.3 million has been raised by Penn State Uplifting Athletes since the inaugural Lift for Life was held in 2003. The inaugural event raised just under $13,000.
The Penn State Lift for Life featured more than 100 members of the Nittany Lion football team and was held at Holuba Hall, with approximately 2,000 fans in attendance. The exhibition featured rotations of one-on-one battles in the tire flip, sled pull, bench press and farmer’s hold, followed by tug of war competitions.
About Uplifting Athletes: A nonprofit organization founded in 2007, Uplifting Athletes inspires the rare disease community with hope through the power of sport. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans and typically lacks financial incentive to make and market new treatments. With a network of university chapters run by current college football student-athletes, Uplifting Athletes has established 22 chapters with Division I football programs across the country. Overall since its inception Uplifting Athletes has had an economic impact of more than $400 million on the rare disease community. For more information about Uplifting Athletes, visit www.upliftingathletes.org.
