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Mission:
Inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope through the power of sport


Vision:
Empower people to take action against rare diseases and be a catalyst for the medical community to find cures

  • About Us
    • About Uplifting Athletes
    • Key Leadership
    • Our Why
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  • Our Programs
    • Rare Disease Research
      • Young Investigator Draft
    • Uplifting Experiences
      • Events
    • Rare Disease Awareness
      • My Cause, My Cleats
      • Rare Disease Champion
      • Uplifting News/UA Blog
    • Uplifting Leaders
      • Lift For Life
      • Reps For Rare Diseases
      • Team UA
      • Touchdown Pledge Drive
      • UA Ambassadors

2020 Rare Disease Champion Team

It is our honor to present the 2020 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team!

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Uplifting Athletes Apparel Now Available!

Check out the new Uplifting Athletes store and place your order today.

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Now Accepting Nominations!

2021 Young Investigator Draft Grant Program Now Open!

Deadline to submit: January 11th, 2021

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Uplifting Experiences

The Notre Dame Chapter's annual Uplifting Experience Bowling Event saw a record number of rare disease patients, siblings and caregivers join the Fighting Irish for some time on the lanes

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Mission

 

Inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope through the power of sport 

Our Programs

Rare Disease Research

Leverage public interest to cultivate resources that accelerate scientific advancements for rare diseases

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Uplifting Leaders

Develops social influencers into leaders that make a positive impact on the rare disease community

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Uplifting Leaders
Rare Disease Awareness

Shares the platform of sport with the rare disease cause and raises it as a national priority

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Uplifting Experiences

Creates special moments that enrich the lives of rare disease patients and their loved ones

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Uplifting Experiences

Our Chapters

Active

Clemson
Colgate
Davidson
Florida State
Fordham
Georgia Tech
Illinois
Lehigh University
Maryland
NC State
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Penn
Penn State
Princeton
Saint Francis
Stony Brook
Syracuse
Western Michigan

Legacy

Arizona
Boston College
Nebraska
Northern Arizona University
Ohio State
South Carolina
Washington
Wisconsin

Fundraising Initiatives

Lift For Life

Lift For Life is the original fundraising event that
launched Uplifitng Athletes! The event was
inspired by Don Shirley's battle with a rare
cancer. Now, college football teams across the
country participate in the right-of-passage to
benefit the rare disease community!

$173,801.69 Amount Raised
154 Campaigns
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Lift For Life

Touchdown Pledge Drive

Touchdown Pledge Drive brings awareness and helps raise funds while capitalizing on what our students-athletes do best during our most visible time of the year, college football season.

$18,488.00 Amount Raised
6 Teams
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UA Ambassadors

The UA Ambassador program empowers individual athletes to support the Rare Disease Community by raising money and awareness with their performance. Opportunities include Reps for Rare Diseases at the NFL Combine and/or Pro Day workouts, the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats campaign, and anything else you can imagine!

$67,188.76 Amount Raised
60 Campaigns
Learn More
Penn State's Mike Gesicki at the NFL Combine

Team UA

We are inviting athletes from across the country to support our mission by holding a pledge-based event to raise money for Uplifting Athletes. This program is open to all sports and all levels! Simply click create your campaign below to get started and a member of our staff will reach out to you to help make it a success.

$39,693.38 Amount Raised
49 Campaigns
Learn More

Uplifting Events & Awareness Campaigns

My Cause, My Cleats

Date: Weeks 13-15 2018
Location: NFL Stadiums

 

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Rare Disease Champion

Date: December 6, 2018
Location: College Football Hall of Fame (Atlanta, GA)

 

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Young Investigator Draft

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2020
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.

 

 

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Reps for Rare Diseases

Date: February-March 2019
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

 

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Uplifting News

Chapter Update: Northwestern finishes off magical year with a victory and three other teams close out 2020 season
Posted on Monday January 04, 2021
Northwestern capped off a memorable 2020 season by winning its fourth consecutive bowl game with a victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. The Big Ten West champions used an offensive explosion that produced the most passing (291) and total yards (457) this season. Wildcats linebacker Paddy Fisher posted a game-high 12 tackles to become […] Continue Reading »
Chapter Update: Clemson claims sixth straight ACC crown and Penn State finishes strong to highlight Week 15
Posted on Monday December 21, 2020
Clemson continued its dominance of the ACC, winning its sixth consecutive outright Conference title by controlling fellow chapter school Notre Dame in the championship game. Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who improved to 34-1 as a starter, was named game MVP on the strength of his 412 total yards (322 passing, 90 rushing) and three touchdowns. […] Continue Reading »
Meet the five inspiring leaders on the 2020 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team
Posted on Monday December 21, 2020
Uplifting Athletes is pleased to announce the 2020 Rare Disease Champion Team. For more than a dozen years, Uplifting Athletes has celebrated leaders in college football that have made a positive and lasting impact on the Rare Disease Community through its Rare Disease Champion initiative. The five members of the 2020 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease […] Continue Reading »
Carrying the burden of a rare genetic gene drove Seth Rotberg to a life helping others
Posted on Friday December 18, 2020
He was just 20 years old when he learned his future would be cut short by the same disease that was robbing life from his mother. Seth Rotberg carried that burden alone, until a pair of tragedies showed him the time he had left was best spent honestly and in service to others.  A decade […] Continue Reading »
Beyond The Trophy 2020: Get to know Penn Chapter Vice President and linebacker Brian O’Neill
Posted on Thursday December 17, 2020
Each week during the college football season we will feature a player who is an officer for an Uplifting Athletes Chapter for our Beyond the Trophy series. Name: Brian O’Neill College: University of Pennsylvania Height, weight, class, position: 6-2, 240-pound, senior, linebacker High School: West Essex Regional High School in Roseland, New Jersey About Brian: […] Continue Reading »
Chapter Update: Honoring FBS senior chapter leaders and three teams post Week 14 victories
Posted on Monday December 14, 2020
As the 2020 college football season winds down, Uplifting Athletes would like to honor the contribution of nine veteran FBS chapter leaders in service to the Rare Disease Community. Thank you to Nolan Cooney of Syracuse, Thomas Ruocchio and Dylan Autenrieth of NC State, Michael Marchese of Illinois, Will Spiers of Clemson, Jack DeFoor of […] Continue Reading »
Beyond The Trophy 2020: Get to know Stony Brook Chapter Vice President and offensive lineman Kyle Nunez
Posted on Thursday December 10, 2020
Each week during the college football season we will feature a player who is an officer for an Uplifting Athletes Chapter for our Beyond the Trophy series. Name: Kyle Nunez College: Stony Brook Height, weight, class, position: 6-2, 340-pound, redshirt junior, offensive line High School: East Islip High School in East Islip, New York About […] Continue Reading »
Chapter Update: Historical victory for Penn State and three other schools post Week 13 wins
Posted on Monday December 07, 2020
Penn State became the ninth program in college football to win 900 games with its road triumph over Rutgers. It was the Nittany Lions’ second win in a row in their 134th season. Running the football has been the formula for recent Penn State success offensively, as the Nittany Lions eclipsed 245-plus yards for the […] Continue Reading »
Beyond The Trophy: Get to know Western Michigan Chapter Vice President and safety Jake Moertl
Posted on Thursday December 03, 2020
Each week during the college football season we will feature a player who is an officer for an Uplifting Athletes Chapter for our Beyond the Trophy series. Name: Jake Moertl College: Western Michigan Height, weight, class, position: 6-0, 195-pound, junior, safety High School: Palatine High School in Palatine, Illinois About Jake: The Illinois native found […] Continue Reading »
Chapter Update: Baylor rallies to win in dramatic fashion and six other teams record Week 12 victories
Posted on Monday November 30, 2020
Baylor snapped its five-game slide in dramatic fashion, using a 30-yard John Mayers field goal as time expired to come from behind and beat Kansas State by a point. The Bears twice overcame nine-point, fourth-quarter deficits and scored the final 10 points, including driving 57 yards in 10 plays to set up the winning kick. […] Continue Reading »

#WeTackleRare

Sun, 01/24/2021 - 23:27
@ UpliftingAth
Happy Birthday @AUTENRIETH21!! Thank you for using your platform to make a difference in the #RareDiseaseCommunity!…
Tue, 01/19/2021 - 21:00
@ UpliftingAth
Big thanks to @AuthorityMgzine for helping to raise awareness for Uplifting Athletes’ mission and for sharing the i…
Mon, 01/18/2021 - 19:26
@ UpliftingAth
Tue, 01/12/2021 - 19:40
@ UpliftingAth
Congratulations to @AlabamaFTBL on winning the national championship and special shout out to Uplifting Athletes Bo…
Mon, 01/11/2021 - 23:12
@ UpliftingAth
Happy Birthday to @TerpsFootball Chapter President @jakefunk34! Congrats on a fantastic college career, good luck a…
Thu, 01/07/2021 - 23:14
@ UpliftingAth
Happy Birthday to 2019 Rare Disease Champion Team member Antwan Dixon! @superman2nad #WeTackleRare
Wed, 01/06/2021 - 17:58
@ UpliftingAth
These 5 @NFL Uplifting Ambassadors showed out in the final week of the regular season #WeTackleRare Grant Haley…
Fri, 01/01/2021 - 18:27
@ UpliftingAth
Wed, 12/30/2020 - 01:50
@ UpliftingAth
A season high 53 Uplifting Ambassadors were active for @NFL Week 16! These are the week's standout performers…
Wed, 12/23/2020 - 01:29
@ UpliftingAth
This weekend Uplifting Athletes had 45 Uplifting Ambassadors take the field in the @NFL ... But these 5 stood out f…
Tue, 12/22/2020 - 15:33
@ UpliftingAth
RT @CuseFootball: Senior @NolanCooney1 is your Brian Piccolo Award winner, which honors the most courageous player in the ACC. Cooney over…
Mon, 12/21/2020 - 20:00
@ UpliftingAth
@ClemsonFB is ACC Champs once again and a career day for @PennStateFball receiver Jahan Dotson! (@H55ZY) That and…
Mon, 12/21/2020 - 16:00
@ UpliftingAth
We are proud to announce the 2020 @UpliftingAth Rare Disease Champion Team. Each member is recognized for the posi…
Sun, 12/20/2020 - 19:20
@ UpliftingAth
Happy Holidays to all! From the Uplifting Athletes Team!
Thu, 12/17/2020 - 22:14
@ UpliftingAth
This week we go Beyond The Trophy with @PENNfb Chapter VP Brian O'Neill #WeTackleRare https://t.co/fwfa9rN66l
Thu, 12/17/2020 - 14:20
@ UpliftingAth
RT @NFLPA: .@NFLPABowl alum @shofrichter10 helped raise awareness to fight rare diseases by donating money for every punt that the rookie d…
Wed, 12/16/2020 - 02:05
@ UpliftingAth
47 Active Uplifting Ambassadors in the @NFL this week, highlighted by impressive performances from...…
Wed, 12/16/2020 - 00:02
@ UpliftingAth
Check out the Week 14 Chapter Update! @IlliniFootball Punter, Blake Hayes (@HayesBla1) takes this weeks Rare Perfo…

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All Rights Reserved •
Uplifting Athletes is a 501(c)3
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