Mission
Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.
Vision
No person impacted by a rare disease feels alone and everyone is inspired with hope for the future.
Core Values
Integrity.
Collaboration.
Empathy.
Passion.
Our History
About
Our Story Built on the vision of one person, pulling from his family’s rare disease experience as the foundation, Uplifting Athletes was started by Penn State University football player and student Scott Shirley in 2003.
When Shirley’s Penn State teammate, Damon Jones, learned of the challenges the Shirley family was enduring when Scott’s father, Don Shirley, was diagnosed with a rare disease in 2002, Damon suggested that they do something since they were in a position to shine their spotlight on those who needed a voice.
The Penn State football team rallied around the idea of leveraging a summer strength and conditioning competition into a fundraising event called Lift For Life by opening it up to their fans and the media. They soon realized that the benefits of this new organization were far greater than they had imagined.
Since Day 1, Uplifting Athletes has focused on using the platform of college football to shine a spotlight on the rare disease cause while providing our student-athletes a valuable leadership experience as well.
University Chapters
With more than two dozen chapters at universities nationwide, it’s these selfless servants – the athletes who run our chapters -that drive home the mission and vision of the rare disease cause through our signature Lift For Life event in the off-season and our Touchdown Pledge Drive during the season.
Uplifting Athletes provides an opportunity for our student-athletes to enhance the valuable skills they develop on the college football playing field and hone in on transferable life and leadership skills that are necessary for careers after athletics.
Uplifting Athletes Today
More than a dozen years later, the cause is still the same. Though today, the organization has expanded its reach to include a network of athletes that consists of college football student-athlete led chapters, Uplifting Ambassadors and Team UA participants.
All the annual events and fundraisers associated with Uplifting Athletes fuels its four charitable programs: Rare Disease Awareness, Rare Disease Research, Uplifting Experiences and Uplifting Leaders.
Since its inception, Uplifting Athletes has raised more than $6 million to support the mission of Uplifting Athletes and its charitable programs.
Our Why
1 in 10 Americans will be diagnosed with a Rare Disease
A Rare Disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time.
7,000
Approximate number of different rare diseases that collectively affect more than 30 million Americans.
Rare diseases are often chronic, progressive, degenerative and life- threatening.
30%
of children with a rare disease will not live to see their 5th birthday.
50%
of rare diseases affect children
Key Leadership
Current Chapter Leaders
Mission:
Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.
Vision:
No person impacted by a rare disease feels alone and everyone is inspired with hope for the future.
Our Programs
Staff
Mission:
Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.
Vision:
No person impacted by a rare disease feels alone and everyone is inspired with hope for the future.
Our Programs
Board
Mission:
Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.
Vision:
No person impacted by a rare disease feels alone and everyone is inspired with hope for the future.
Our Programs
Scientific Advisory Council
Mission:
Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.
Vision:
No person impacted by a rare disease feels alone and everyone is inspired with hope for the future.