At the encouragement of a teammate, Shirley and other Penn State players took a strength and conditioning competition amongst themselves to the public. "Lifting for Life" became so successful that fundraisers spread to other college football teams across the country.  

Scott Shirley is now the Executive Director of Uplifting Athletes and he is the guest in this episode of witf's Radio Smart Talk program.

Listen to the program:

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.

Click here to read some of the many uplifting stories.  And, learn about the ways that you can get involved.

About Rare Diseases

There are about 7000 rare diseases identified in the United States. About 80% of rare diseases are genetic in origin and about 75% affect children. Rare diseases can be chronic, progressive, debilitating, disabling, severe and life-threatening. Information is often scarce and research is usually insufficient. People affected face challenges such as delays in obtaining a diagnosis, misdiagnosis, psychological burden and lack of support services for the patient and family.

Learn more about rare cancers in this episode of Radio Smart Talk.