It took time, patience and a lot of hard work, but the Northern Arizona Chapter of Uplifting Athletes held its first official Lift For Life event recently.

The members of the NAU Chapter, led by President Corbin Jountti and Vice President Devon McPeek, worked out in the early morning hours in support of its mission of using college football as a platform to inspire the rare disease community with hope through the power of sport.

Lift For Life is the signature fundraising event for the Uplifting Athletes nationwide network of college football student-athlete led chapters.

Proceeds from the Northern Arizona Chapter of Uplifting Athletes inaugural Lift For Life supports rare disease research and patient focused programs.

The challenges faced by the rare disease community are bigger than any one individual, team or organization can tackle alone. The grassroots effort of the Northern Arizona Chapter, along with a nationwide network of teams, is uniquely positioned to educate and engage the local community and shine a spotlight on rare diseases.

Northern Arizona joined Uplifting Athletes in 2015 and is one of 25 student-athlete led chapter’s that help bring the vision of Uplifting Athletes to life; which is to empower people to take action against rare diseases and inspires the medical community to find cures.