Uplifting Athletes - Chapters

Chapters

Uplifting Athletes' founding chapter is at Penn State University. The football team there has designated the Kidney Cancer Association as their charity. To date the team has raised over $300,000 dollars for that charity. The Penn State chapter raises funds through its annual weight-lifting competition, Lift for Life. The competition features teams of four players competing in 11 strength and conditioning events, such as bench press and the "giant tire flip."

Subsequent chapters have formed at other Universities. Some of the earlier chapters to form include:

• A chapter at Boston College benefiting Ewing's sarcoma
• One at Colgate University benefiting Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• A chapter at the University of Maryland benefiting cystic fibrosis.
• A chapter at Ohio State University has also chosen to support the Kidney Cancer Association. Members of OSU's football team hold a video game tournament to support the cause.
• There are also chapters and events in other states, from Florida to California.

In 2009, the Penn State and University of Maryland chapters of Uplifting Athletes hosted events for Rare Disease Day.

In June 2010, for the first time in Uplifting Athletes History, leaders of all current chapters met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the offices of Uplifting Athletes for a conference to share ideas and learn how to improve the performance of their chapters. The student-athletes learned from industry experts and guest lecturers about such things a better decision making, budgeting, and marketing.