Skip to content
Uplifting Athletes Logo
Donate
MENU

Mission:
Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.


Vision:
No person impacted by a rare disease feels alone and everyone is inspired with hope for the future.

  • About Us
    • About Uplifting Athletes
    • Key Leadership
    • Our Why
    • College Chapters
    • Corporate Champions
    • Contact Us
  • Our Programs
    • Rare Disease Research
      • Young Investigator Draft
    • Uplifting Experiences
      • Events
    • Rare Disease Awareness
      • My Cause, My Cleats
      • Rare Disease Champion
      • Uplifting News/UA Blog
    • Uplifting Leaders
      • Lift For Life
      • Reps For Rare Diseases
      • Team UA
      • Touchdown Pledge Drive
      • UA Ambassadors

East Tennessee State

Chapter Established in 2021
Life Time Total $

Uplifting Athletes Mission

Harness the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases.

East Tennessee State

Chapter Leadership

Current Chapter Leaders

Shaun Hastings
President
Shaun Hastings
President

Shaun Hastings became a chapter leader at Saint Francis in 2020 before he transferred to East Tennessee State and founded a chapter at his new school in 2021. Shaun is the President of the new chapter. He attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2020, 2021 and 2022, was a draft pick presenter at the 2022 Young Investigator Draft and is making sure the Buccaneers football program is using their platform as college football student athletes to serve and inspire hope in the Rare Disease Community.

"One of the biggest things I have learned is how much of an impact that I myself can have on so many peopleโ€™s lives. Iโ€™m very passionate about helping others and making sure everyone gets a fair shot.โ€

Shaun started his collegiate career at Saint Francis where he played in 18 games along the offensive line, including nine starts, in 2018 and 2019. After the Red Flash season in 2020 was canceled, he transferred to ETSU and is looking to contribute up front for the Buccaneers in 2022.

Official ETSU Bio

Blake Austin
Vice President
Blake Austin
Vice President

Blake Austin volunteered to step into a leadership role and serve as a chapter leader following the 2021 season. He attended the Leadership Development Conference and Young Investigator Draft in 2022 to prepare for the upcoming year. Blake will play a key and instrumental role moving forward in helping the East Tennessee State Chapter continue its mission to inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope.

Blake became a starter late in his second season at ETSU and last year ,during his third year, became the No. 1 left guard on the depth chart for a team that finished 11-2, won a conference championship and posted an FCS playoff game victory.

Uplifting Athletes Programs

Rare Disease Research

Leverage public interest to cultivate resources that accelerate scientific advancements for rare diseases

Read More
Uplifting Leaders

Develops social influencers into leaders that make a positiveย impact on the rare disease community

Read More
Uplifting Leaders
Rare Disease Awareness

Shares the platform of sport with the rare disease cause and raises it as a national priority

Read More
Uplifting Experiences

Creates special moments that enrich the lives of rare disease patients and their loved ones

Read More
Uplifting Experiences

Fundraising Initiatives

East Tennessee State Football Lift For Life 2022
$325.00 Amount Raised
2 Campaigns
View Results

News & Past Events

#WeTackleRare

Wed, 02/08/2023 - 14:00
@ UpliftingAth
Thank you to everyone who helped make the ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—จ๐—ก๐—š ๐—œ๐—ก๐—ฉ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—œ๐—š๐—”๐—ง๐—ข๐—ฅ ๐——๐—ฅ๐—”๐—™๐—ง a truly memorable one! #WeTackleRare
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 19:44
@ UpliftingAth
RT @CameronLynch50: ๐ŸŽค Emcee for the @UpliftingAth #YoungInvestigatorDraft to raise awareness and celebrate for rare disease research ๐Ÿ”ฌ! Tunโ€ฆ
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 19:43
@ UpliftingAth
Elevating, celebrating, and funding game-changing researchers #YID23 #WeTackleRare
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 18:16
@ UpliftingAth
๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—จ๐—ก๐—š ๐—œ๐—ก๐—ฉ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—œ๐—š๐—”๐—ง๐—ข๐—ฅ ๐——๐—ฅ๐—”๐—™๐—ง Almost showtime here in Philadelphia! The draft is set to begin at 7:00pm LIVESTRโ€ฆ
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 17:37
@ UpliftingAth
Itโ€™s game time! The 2023 Young Investigator Draft is happening now. #WeTackleRare #YID23
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 17:08
@ UpliftingAth
Thank you to our 2023 Young Investigator Draft Sponsors! Weโ€™re beyond grateful for your support and commitment to oโ€ฆ
Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:54
@ UpliftingAth
๐๐„๐–๐’: 10 Emerging Scientists Score Research Grants Totaling $200,000 Elite athletes and scientists will stand shouโ€ฆ
Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:25
@ UpliftingAth
@PennMedNews @PennMedicine Thank you for sharing our news and congratulations to Dr. Sande, Dr. Mumau, and Dr. Felix! #WeTackleRare
Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:23
@ UpliftingAth
@RarePOV @GRIN2Bsyndrome @TeamTelomereInc @CureCastleman @curestxbp1 @CureHIBM Thank you for sharing our news today @RarePOV! #WeTackleRare
Mon, 01/09/2023 - 10:58
@ UpliftingAth
@UMSOMPostdocs Thank you for helping promote this awesome event! #WeTackleRare For those interested in attending tโ€ฆ
Fri, 01/06/2023 - 17:40
@ UpliftingAth
This week, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act and the progress it has made for developiโ€ฆ
Wed, 01/04/2023 - 14:24
@ UpliftingAth
๐‘ฌ๐’‚๐’“๐’๐’š ๐‘ฉ๐’Š๐’“๐’… ๐‘ท๐’“๐’Š๐’„๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐‘ฌ๐’™๐’‘๐’Š๐’“๐’†๐’” ๐‘ป๐’๐’…๐’‚๐’š Save up to 35% for the '23 Young Investigator Draft! Join us for a night which honโ€ฆ
Tue, 01/03/2023 - 15:06
@ UpliftingAth
@BuffaloBills Our thoughts are with the @HamlinIsland family and @BuffaloBills. ๐Ÿ’™
Fri, 12/30/2022 - 18:02
@ UpliftingAth
Uplifting Experiences put our mission into motion. In November, @RileyTDixon92 and the @RamsNFL welcomed a couple oโ€ฆ
Thu, 12/29/2022 - 13:14
@ UpliftingAth
@JDBertrand1 @Allstate @WeAreAFCA @dosomething @NDFootball Congratulations @JDBertrand1! We're proud to have you onโ€ฆ
Tue, 12/27/2022 - 16:12
@ UpliftingAth
๐—จ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ณ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† Matthew Breeggemann is combining his experience as a rare kidney patient and his expertise as a kidโ€ฆ
Tue, 12/20/2022 - 15:26
@ UpliftingAth
This year we've expanded our programs and grown our community to support people impacted by #RareDiseases in astronโ€ฆ
Fri, 12/16/2022 - 10:12
@ UpliftingAth
@NaomiDirckx Thank you!

Uplifting Athletes Chapters

Lehigh University
Northern Arizona University
Wisconsin
South Carolina
Western Michigan
Davidson
Ohio State
Washington
Syracuse
Stony Brook
Saint Francis
Princeton
Penn State
Penn
Notre Dame
Northwestern
Nebraska
NC State
Maryland
Illinois
Georgia Tech
Fordham
Colgate
Florida State
Boston College
Arizona
Clemson
Uplifting Athletes Logo
Footer Logos
  • About Us
    • About Uplifting Athletes
    • Our Why
    • Corporate Champions
    • Key Leadership
    • College Chapters
  • Our Programs
    • Young Investigator Draft
    • My Cause, My Cleats
    • Rare Disease Champion
    • Uplifting News/UA Blog
    • Events
    • Lift For Life
    • Reps For Rare Diseases
    • Team UA
    • Touchdown Pledge Drive
    • UA Ambassadors

Sign up for our Newsletter

Sign Up

@ 2023 Uplifting Athletes, Inc. โ€ข All Rights Reserved โ€ข Patent Pending | Uplifting Athletes is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization

  • Sponsorship
  • Donate Now
  • Contact Us