Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes Hosts Successful Fundraising Event; Nearly 3,000 Fans Unite to Help Raise Awareness For Kidney Cancer!

July 24, 2007 - Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes Hosts Successful Fundraising Event; Nearly 3,000 Fans Unite to Help Raise Awareness For Kidney Cancer!

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA The Penn State Football Uplifting Athletes fifth annual Lift For Life® event was a tremendous success. Nearly 3,000 Nittany Lion fans joined kidney cancer patients from across the country and gathered in Holuba Hall on the Penn State campus to support the football student-athletes as they competed in a strength and conditioning competition to benefit the Kidney Cancer Association. The event was planned by current members of the football team to raise funds and help raise awareness for this rare disease. The university chapter has received over $75,000 in donations so far this year, increasing the total raised to more than $225,000 since 2003.

Penn State Football student-athletes began the fight against kidney cancer in 2003 when they learned four team members had fathers battling this deadly disease. Only about 30,000 Americans are afflicted with kidney cancer each year, qualifying it as a rare disease. Consequently, kidney cancer struggles for attention and desperately competes for research funds and treatment protocols.

Chapter president Kevin Suhey said, "It is tremendous to see how our fans have come out and support us in this worthwhile cause. Uplifting Athletes is working hard to share the college football spotlight with rare diseases such as kidney cancer. As student-athletes, we realize we are in a position to make a difference and we want to do everything we can to bring attention to these rare diseases." Suhey was also part of the winning team, which included Brett Brackett, Jason Ganter and Mark Rubin. The event featured 84 Penn State Football student-athletes competing in 11 strength and conditioning exercises ranging from the bench press to a giant tire flip.

Uplifting Athletes, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to leverage college football to change the perception of rare diseases and raise them as a national priority. University chapters are operated by current football student-athletes and raise funds and awareness for charities that support a rare disease.For more information about Uplifting Athletes or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please visit www.upliftingathletes.org or contact Deloris Brobeck at 814-865-1946.