NORFOLK, Va. — Since 2007, Uplifting Athletes has been harnessing the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases. Through their annual Life for Life fundraiser, they've used the power of college football to shine a light on the rare disease cause.
Started by the Penn State football team, the event leverages summer workouts and conditioning competitions into a fundraiser open to the media and public.
On Saturday, the Monarchs hosted their second ever event led by ODU offensive lineman and Lift for Life ambassadors Leroy Thomas and Santana Saunders.
Even though neither has a personal connection to rare diseases, they still felt it was important to use their platform as college athletes to make an impact.
"You don't really think about it. It's just an hour of our time. Some guys just come in here and they leave and its like we just got a normal lift in but to some people this is really impactful," said Thomas.
"For strong guys like me, we come in here and use our strength to uplift the ones in need so for me its kind of simple," said Saunders.