PhRMA interview with Scott Shirley

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents innovative biopharmaceutical research and discovery companies. PhRMA is devoted to advancing public policies in the U.S. and around the world that support innovative medical research, yield progress for patients today and provide hope for the treatments and cures of tomorrow.

Stephanie Fisher (@SDFatPhRMA) recently interviewed Uplifting Athletes executive director Scott Shirley for their daily blog called “Catalyst.”  PhRMA is a proud partner of the Uplifting Athletes annual Gridiron Gala.

You can read the full interview HERE!

President Barack Obama welcomes Hoffman family and 2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Rex Burkhead to White House

Jack Hoffman touched a lot of hearts with his inspirational 69-yard touchdown run during the Nebraska football spring game recently.

One of those moved by 7-year-old Hoffman’s run was President Barack Obama. And Monday afternoon the leader of the free world welcomed the entire Hoffman family to the White House for a visit inside the Oval Office.

2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Rex Burkhead, 7-year-old Jack Hoffman and Uplifting Athletes Executive Director Scott Shirley outside the White House.

Andy Hoffman, his wife Brianna and three children – including Jack – made the trip from Atkinson, Nebraska to Washington D.C. at the request of the White House.

The Hoffman family was joined by 2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion and former Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead.

A friendship between Burkhead and Jack Hoffman was the catalyst for Nebraksa Univeristy starting an Uplifting Athletes chapter in the spring of 2012.

“Being in there talking with the President was a weird feeling,” said Burkhead, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend. “Being in there with the Hoffman family and Jack and bringing about awareness to pediatric brain cancer is very important. It’s all about bring more awareness and raising money for more research.”

And earlier this year, Uplifting Athletes presented a check for $275,000 to the Dana Farber cancer institute in Boston in the fight against pediatric brain cancer – the rare disease that Jack Hoffman is battling.

Uplifting Athletes Executive Director Scott Shirley was in Washington D.C. Monday and visited with the Hoffman family and Burkhead following their visit with President Obama.

“The President was very gracious with his time with us. We didn’t get to talk about pediatric brain cancer very much,” Hoffman said. “But what we really thanked him for was starting a national conversation to help us further awareness for the disease.

“And we thanked him for that. It was an awesome experience for our entire family.”

Uplifting Athletes and Team Jack, the foundation Andy and Breanna Hoffman founded to aid in this fight against the rare disease of pediatric brain cancer, are working together to raise awareness and funds.

The Hoffman family, 2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion and former Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead and Uplifting Athletes Executive Director Scott Shirley.

And when Jack’s innocent 69-yard touchdown run, which has more than 7.7 million views on YouTube, went viral it created a platform to bring more exposure to the challenges the Hoffman family, and millions of other rare disease families, face on a daily basis.

“It was just a remarkable event that was very authentic. It wasn’t something rehearsed or anything,” Andy Hoffman said of Jack’s touchdown run. “It was the human spirit being revealed in a very loving, touching way.

“The President talked about Jack being on Sportscenter and being the No 1 play that day. And he thought that was pretty cool.”

2013 NFL Draft Recap

2013 NFL Draft RECAP:

Very proud to say that the 2012 Rare Disease Champion and eight other Uplifting Athletes were selected in the 2013 NFL Draft.  More are expected to sign as free agents this week.  Here is a summary from the NFL.com Draft Tracker:

2nd Round:

6(38)

Chargers (From Cardinals)

Te’o, Manti

ILB

6’1″

241

Notre Dame

19(51)

Redskins

Amerson, David

CB

6’1″

205

N.C. State

3rd Round:

11(73)

Buccaneers

Glennon, Mike

QB

6’7″

225

N.C. State

25(87)

Seahawks

Hill, Jordan

DT

6’1″

303

Penn St.

4th Round:

23(120)

Vikings

Hodges, Gerald

OLB

6’1″

243

Penn St.

6th Round:

18(186)

Steelers

Brown, Justin

WR

6’3″

209

Oklahoma

22(190)

Bengals

Burkhead, Rex

RB

5’10″

214

Nebraska

7th Round:

7(213)

Vikings (From Cardinals)

Mauti, Michael

ILB

6’2″

243

Penn St.

18(224)

Packers (From Cowboys through Dolphins)

Dorsey, Kevin

WR

6’3″

210

Maryland

 

These student-athletes join 35 additional Uplifting Athletes “Lettermen” currently in the NFL who have either held  leadership positions or raised money for rare disease research through their university chapter.

Here is a quick breakdown: Boston College (5), Colgate (1), Maryland (2), NC State (1), Northwestern (2), Ohio State (5), Penn State (17) and Wisconsin (2).

There are hundreds more who have embarked on fulfilling careers outside of the NFL, too.  Uplifting Athletes has raised over $1.5 million to support rare disease research.

We are very lucky to work with so many talented yet selfless young men in the fight against rare diseases. Together…We Are…Stronger!

Please visit www.upliftingathletes.org to learn more and join our team!

2012 Rare Disease Champion Rex Burkhead

Colgate Raiders break Life For Life record for dollars raised

Members of the Colgate football team worked hard to set a school Lift For Life fundraising record

We held our seventh annual Lift for Life last Wednesday in the Sanford Field House. The event was a huge success and I am proud to announce that we have raised a record breaking, $15,780 and counting.

This number is a testament to the passionate hard work that your Colgate Raiders have so diligently dedicated to this past school year’s campaign.

Our 2012-2013 campaign for Ependymoma research and awareness was highlighted by the Touchdown Drive this past fall semester, and the Lift for Life. Player’s spearheaded their “Player Pages” and brought in thousands of dollars, thanks to the generous support from family, friends, and alumni.

Last week’s Lift for Life featured a silent auction of autographed memorabilia, a four-team obstacle course relay race and a two-team tug of war. The obstacle course consisted of a truck pull, 225 pound bench press, 20 pull-ups, tire flip, run-the-loop, quick foot ladder, two-man wheel barrow run, 2×95 pound heavy bag farmer’s carry, and a touchdown pass from quarterbacks to receivers.

Each of the four teams had designated individual members to participate in each event. Team 1 defeated Team 2 and battled Team 3 (the winner of 3 vs. 4) for the championship. Team 1 came out victorious at a photo finish to an exciting competition.

We had a decent turnout, and the fans and players alike had a lot of fun. On behalf of the Colgate Football team I’d like to thank everybody who contributed in making this year’s Uplifting Athletes campaign a special one.

We have our work cut out for us next year as we will strive to continue making differences in the lives of those who are affected by rare diseases. G.A.T.A!

 

Jimmy DeCicco ’15

Colgate University

Uplifting Athletes and Team Jack score a memorable touchdown at Nebraska

Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead wasn’t on the field Saturday for the Cornhuskers, but No. 22 still scored a memorable touchdown.

The 69-yard gallop by Jack Hoffman, a 7-year-old pediatric brain cancer patient, touched the hearts of millions of people nationwide this weekend.

A video clip of Hoffman’s dash to the end zone has more than 2 millions hits on YouTube, created a firestorm on social media and became a national feel-good story.

Nebraska Director of Football Operations Jeff Jamrog came up with the idea late Friday and ran his idea by Cornhuskers fullback CJ Zimmerer, the President of Nebraska’s Uplifting Athletes chapter.

“It was sort of last minute. Coach Jamrog knew I was working to get Uplifting Athletes some exposure at the spring game. Once he told me his plan, I called Rex to see if he was going to be at the game,” Zimmerer said.

“We didn’t know how we were going to do it, but coach Bo (Pellini) told the whole team about it before the game.”

Hoffman’s personal relationship with Burkhead was the inspiration for Nebraska forming an Uplifting Athletes chapter in 2012. The partnership between Team Jack and Uplifting Athletes raised more than $300,000 for pediatric brain cancer last season.

“When I first saw the video I thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for not only Jack, but all college football fans,” Uplifting Athletes Executive Director Scott Shirley said. “There’s something about this that is so moving. The great part is that it happened so organic.”

ESPN Sportscenter made Jack’s dash its No. 1 Play of the Day Saturday. Fox News and several other major media outlets wrote follow-up pieces on Sunday. Twitter and Facebook told their own story of people’s individual reaction.

“Jack impacts us more sometimes than we impact him I feel. That’s what is so amazing about this,” Zimmerer said. “I was getting so excited on the sideline planning the play with him. As he ran down the field I had the biggest smile on my face I’ve ever had in my life. My whole body was tingling.

“The whole team running down the field was just spontaneous. To have something like this happen on short notice and be so successful, it’s huge for Uplifting Athletes and pediatric brain cancer.”

You can help Uplifting Athletes and Team Jack fight pediatric brain cancer by purchasing your officially licensed Team Jack T-Shirt HERE.

Colgate Spring Ball & Lift For Life

I hope that March spared you on its way out. Here in the paradise that we call Hamilton, NY, we have continued braving the wrath of Winter. We completed our 9th (of 15) practice today in a blustering snowstorm. So far we have seen snow and/or freezing rain at 6 practices. Tonight, Coach Biddle announced, “You’ll probably never play in conditions like this, but if you can make plays out here you will be able to make plays in any environment.”

Never mind the miserable weather, we have seen a lot of positive things thus far. Star Quarterback, Gavin McCarney, has been receiving the “Nate Eachus Treatment.” In other words, Coach Hunt is only allowing Gavin to take minimal reps each day to avoid any catastrophic injuries. Offensively, we have installed all of our plays, and kids are starting to step up into their new roles. Sophomore-to-be running backs, John Wilkins, James Travellin and Demetrius Russell have each been running hard in their competition for the job. Their classmates, John Weber and Zac Sawin have grown into their roles at left tackle and right tackle, respectively.

Our secondary will be the strength of our defense led by senior safeties, Chad Frey and Dimitri Diamond and junior cornerback Mike Armiento. The defense is not playing any man coverage this Spring so they can focus on perfecting our zone variations. We have 6 practices left, and as the weather starts to warm up I anticipate that everybody will get an extra spring in their step. Most importantly, we keep getting better everyday as we continue preparing to defend our title.

In other Colgate Football News, the date of our 2013 Uplifting Athletes “Lift for Life” is set for April 17th. Uplifting Athletes is a nationwide non-profit organization that raises money for rare diseases. Colgate’s Chapter of UA sponsors research of Ependymoma, a rare cancer that affects the brain and spinal chord. This year we will be auctioning off coveted merchandise at the Lift for Life. The auction currently features: an autographed football from the 2012 New England Patriots, a Jason Taylor autographed football, a 1977 autographed New York Yankees Baseball, several framed autographed photos and several other autographed balls. If you are interested in bidding on any of the items mentioned, please let me know. Our biggest annual fundraiser is our Player Pages. These pages allow for family and friends to donate to Ependymoma support and research. Here is the link to my Player Page and we would greatly appreciate any contribution that you may consider. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding Spring Ball or Uplifting Athletes.

Thank you all very much for your consideration. I’ll be in touch after our last practice. For those of you who enjoy the privilege of nice weather, please think of your frozen Raiders as you bask in the sun. G.A.T.A!!

Yours,

Jimmy DeCicco ’15

Colgate University

Colgate Football Spring Ball Update

I hope you’ve enjoyed the holidays. For those of you in the North, I expect that you are just as ready for the arrival of Spring as we are here in Hamilton. It’s been a long winter and your Colgate Football team has been working hard in the weight room. We are eager to get out on the field as we continue preparing to defend our title. Albeit, mother nature will be blessing us with 3-5 inches just in time for our first spring practice tomorrow. How could we expect anything less from a Central New York March?

Since the last update, we were awarded with our championship rings and watches at our banquet in February; President Jeffrey Herbst held a celebratory dinner for the entire team; and we were honored at halftime one of the men’s basketball games. We also completed our 9-week winter conditioning the week before spring break (two weeks ago.) Every player has made enormous gains in the weight room under the watchful eye of Colgate’s Head Strength Coach, Gabe Harrington. The program was also excited to announce it’s first ever scholarship class of recruits. We are bringing in 21 commits, which is a smaller class than previous years. Of the 21 athletes coming in, 6 of them are 2-star rival recruits, which impressed our coaches. But to put that into perspective, Nate Eachus and Gavin McCarney didn’t have any stars which makes the ranking somewhat arbitrary.

Gavin is excited to lead the defending Patriot League Champs into his senior season and third year as our starting quarterback. With the loss of Ryan Risch, Craig Capodifferro and Brian Crockett on the offensive line, we are looking for several rising sophomores and juniors to step up. We expect sophomore-to-be, Johnny Wilkins, to replace star running back, Jordan McCord. It will be interesting to see which players will brave the elements at Andy Kerr Stadium this Spring and emerge as big time players for us next fall. Keep an eye out for my next update coming sometime in the middle of Spring Ball. As always, Go ‘Gate!! G.A.T.A!!

All the best,

Jimmy DeCicco ’15