June 26, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Twenty Blue-White Game jerseys will be auctioned at the 12th Annual Penn State Penn State Uplifting Athletes "Lift For Life" with all proceeds going towards the fight against kidney cancer.
The Penn State Lift For Life will be held on Saturday, July 12 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Penn State Lacrosse Field on University Drive. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Kidney Cancer Association and kidney cancer patients.
Activities related to the Penn State Lift For Life will begin on July 9 at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. The State College Spikes will host Uplifting Athletes Night on July and the more fan interactive Lift For Life is July 12. During the 11 years of the Penn State Lift For Life, members of the Penn State football team have raised in excess of $825,000 for the Kidney Cancer Association, including a record totals above $100,000 in each of the past three years.
Penn State Uplifting Athletes president Ben Kline (Seven Valleys) announced that the goal for this year's Lift for Life and Uplifting Athletes events is to surpass a combined total of $1 million over the 12 years.
Activities related to the Penn State Lift For Life will again take place on the same weekend as the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, more commonly referred to as Arts Fest.
In addition to the jersey auction, Kline announced additional details for this July's Lift For Life and related events:
- The Penn State football offense will square off against the defense in seven events: 225-pound bench max, dead lift, sled push, tire flip, shuttle, tug run and the popular tug of war to end the Lift For Life competition;
- Pre-registration is available for kids 12 and under who wish to participate in the two kids clinics hosted by members of the Nittany Lion football team. The cost of the clinic, which includes a Lift For Life T-shirt is $10. Pre-registration is available by sending an email to: psuliftforlife2014@gmail.com
- Penn State students will be admitted free to the Lift For Life with valid ID;
- Kids 12 and under will have an opportunity to decorate a Lift For Life poster that can be autographed by the players;
- Gates will open at 10:15 a.m. for the Lift For Life atop the hill and next to the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Building.
On Wednesday, July 9, members of the Nittany Lion football team will be a part of the Arts Fest Children and Youth Day. The players will be helping children draw posters of the Lift For Life event from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Sidney Friedman Park near Memorial Field in downtown State College.
On Friday, July 11, the State College Spikes will join the fight against kidney cancer when they host Uplifting Athletes Night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Spikes will be hosting Brooklyn at 7 p.m. and a portion of the tickets sold will go to Uplifting Athletes. Details are available at: statecollegespikes.com. On Saturday, July 12, the Penn State Lift For Life will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Penn State Lacrosse Field. Football squad members will conduct two kids clinics from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and all the players will be available from 1-2 p.m. for autographs and photos.
Admission to the Penn State Lift For Life is $10 for adults, while children 12 and under and Penn State students are free. There is a $10 fee for youth who want to participate in one of the clinics with the players. All proceeds from the Penn State Lift For Life will benefit kidney cancer patients and their families.
Fans can make a Lift For Life donation by visiting the Penn State Uplifting Athletes website at: http://give.upliftingathletes.org/state-college/events/penn-state-lift-for-life-2014/e32671.
Penn State football teammates serving as 2014 Uplifting Athletes officers are: president - linebacker Ben Kline; vice president - running back Deron Thompson (Lititz); secretary - tight end Adam Breneman (Mechanicsburg); director of marketing - tight end Jesse James (Glassport); compliance manager - running back Akeel Lynch (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and director of fundraising - tight end Brent Wilkerson (Clinton, Md.). Former football squad members and current Penn State students Joe Marvin (Treasurer) and Bryce Wilson (director of operations) also are officers.
About Uplifting Athletes: Uplifting Athletes is a full-service national nonprofit organization aligning college football with rare diseases and raising them as a national priority through research, outreach, education and advocacy. What makes Uplifting Athletes unique is that the university chapters are run by current football student-athletes, providing them with an opportunity to gain management and leadership skills while learning how to leverage their assets and abilities to make a positive and lasting impact.
Uplifting Athletes Chapters are: Penn State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Kent State, NC State, Fordham, St. Francis, Notre Dame, Maryland, Illinois, Northwestern, Princeton and Colgate. 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.).