Athletics

Penn State Uplifting Athletes 'Lift for Life' set for July 11

Tight end Jesse James competed in the 225-pound bench press at Lift For Life 2014. Founded at Penn State in 2003, Uplifting Athletes now has chapters at 25 universities where football players are raising awareness of rare diseases. Credit: Bill Zimmerman / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The annual "Lift for Life," the signature event of the Penn State Uplifting Athletes chapter is set for Saturday, July 11 at the Penn State Lacrosse Field from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

The 13th Annual Penn State Lift For Life will again feature the Nittany Lion offense taking on the defense in a series of competitions to benefit the Kidney Cancer Association. The popular event will be held during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College and take place at the Penn State Lacrosse Field next to the multi-sport facility.

The competitions will include an obstacle course, sand bag stack, sled pull and push, shuttle run and finish with a tug of war. There is a suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for kids to support the Penn State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes. All proceeds from the Penn State Lift For Life will benefit kidney cancer patients and their families.

The football team will also conduct a kids clinic from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and all the players will be available from 1-2 p.m. for autographs and photos. Cost to participate in the clinic is $15 per child. The participants also will receive a Lift For Life T-shirt.

More than 80 football squad members are expected participate in the Penn State Lift For Life and will be available for an autograph session immediately after the event on the Lacrosse Field.

Visitor parking for the event will be available at Lot 44, located just east of the Bryce Jordan Center and accessible via Dauer Drive (from University Drive), Porter Road and Curtin Road.

With event parking sales for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in effect on Saturday, July 11, parking at Lot 44 will require payment of a $5 event parking fee (cash only) or display of a valid Penn State parking permit.

If there are any questions, please contact the Parking Office by phone at 814-865-1436 or by email at parking@psu.edu.

Fans can make a Lift For Life donation by visiting the Penn State Uplifting Athletes website at: give.upliftingathletes.org/psulift2015.

Penn State football teammates serving as 2015 Uplifting Athletes officers are: linebacker Ben Kline, president; wide receiver Gregg Garrity, director of marketing; kicker Chris Gulla, safety Joe Berg and tackle Brendan Brosnan, co-directors of finance; defensive end Garrett Sickels, director of operations; safety Anthony Smith, university relations manager; running back Akeel Lynch, director of compliance, defensive tackle Anthony Zettel, sergeant at arms and linebacker Koa Farmer, tight end/h-back Dom Salomone and tight end/h-back Brent Wilkerson, officers. Former football squad members and current Penn State students Deron Thompson (secretary), Joe Marvin (treasurer) and Bryce Wilson (director of alumni operations) also are officers.

About Uplifting Athletes: Uplifting Athletes is a national nonprofit organization aligning college football with rare diseases and raising them as a national priority through outreach, research, education, and advocacy. What makes Uplifting Athletes unique is that our chapter network is run by current football student-athletes, providing them with an opportunity to gain practical job skills while learning how to leverage their assets and abilities to make a positive and lasting impact.

The Uplifting Athletes Chapters are: Penn State, Arizona, Colgate, Illinois, Northwestern, Princeton, Syracuse, Baylor, Florida State, Maryland, Notre Dame, St. Francis (Pa.), Virginia, Boston College, Fordham, Nebraska, Ohio State, South Carolina, Washington, Clemson, Georgetown, NC State, Stony Brook and Wisconsin. Each chapter adopts one out of approximately 7,000 rare diseases (such as ALS, Aplastic Anemia, CMT, cystic fibrosis, Ehlers-Danlos, Ewing's Sarcoma, Kidney Cancer, Leukemia, MS, Neimann Pick Type-C, Neuroblastoma, pancreatic cancer, etc.).

The Nittany Lions open the 2015 campaign on the road against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 5 at 3:30 p.m., on ESPN and Penn State Sports Network.

Season tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale, with more than 3,600 new season tickets having been sold. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.   

Last Updated July 3, 2015