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

Eastern Illinois

Chapter Established in 2019
Life Time Total $4,973.50

Uplifting Athletes Mission

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

Eastern Illinois

Chapter Leadership

Current Chapter Leaders

Kenzie Balcerak
President - Women's Soccer
Kenzie Balcerak
President - Women's Soccer

Kenzie Balcerak became a chapter leader at Eastern Illinois for the women’s soccer team in 2021. She is the President and was largely responsible for the historical first non-football Lift For Life by a college program in 2021. Kenzie attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2022 and was a grant presenter at the 2022 Young Investigator Draft celebration. Kenzie is making sure the Panthers women’s soccer program is using their platform as college student athletes to serve and inspire hope in the Rare Disease Community.

The Wisconsin native midfielder has appeared in 38 matches the last three years including 17 starts in 2021 where she logged a team-high 1,462 minutes of action. Kenzie has four career assists and her lone collegiate goal was an overtime game winner in 2020.

Cameron Leach
Vice President - Football
Cameron Leach
Vice President - Football

Cameron Leach 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. Cameron will play a key and instrumental role moving forward in helping the Eastern Illinois Chapter continue its mission to inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope.

“My dad had a rare form of cancer that he was able to beat so I wanted to help other people in similar situations.”

The native of Chicago has started 17 consecutive games on the defensive line for the Panthers, including all 11 games in 2021. Cameron recorded 48 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two pass break ups and a fumble recovery the last two seasons as a starter.

Tim Varga
President - Football
Tim Varga
President - Football

Tim Varga volunteered to step into a leadership role and serve as a chapter leader following the 2021 season. Tim attended the Leadership Development Conference and Young Investigator Draft in 2022 and is making sure the Panthers football program is using their platform as college football student athletes to serve and inspire hope in the Rare Disease Community.

“My roommate was the Eastern Illinois Chapter President, so it was just a natural fit for me to get involved. I’m learning that being a part of Uplifting Athletes provides us the opportunity to help so many people.”

Tim has been a starter on the defensive line his first season at EIU and following the 2021 campaign he was named second team All-Ohio Valley Conference after posting 48 total tackles and six tackles for loss in 11 games including tying for the team lead with four sacks.

Jenna Little
Vice President - Women's Soccer
Jenna Little
Vice President - Women's Soccer

Jenna Little volunteered to step into a leadership role and serve as a chapter leader in 2022 after participating in the inaugural EIU Lift For Life in 2021. SHe attended the Leadership Development Conference and Young Investigator Draft celebration in 2022 to prepare for the upcoming year. Jenna will play a key and instrumental role moving forward in helping the Eastern Illinois Chapter continue its mission to inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope.

The Michigan native is a third-year midfielder/forward for the Panthers who has appeared in 21 games with five starts and more than 800 minutes played. Jenna scored her first career goal against Morehead State in 2021 and was an Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medal of Honor recipient in 2020.

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 positive 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

$ Amount Raised
Campaigns
View Results

News & Past Events

#WeTackleRare

Wed, 02/08/2023 - 14:00
@ UpliftingAth
Thank you to everyone who helped make the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗧 a truly memorable one! #WeTackleRare
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 19:44
@ UpliftingAth
RT @CameronLynch50: 🎤 Emcee for the @UpliftingAth #YoungInvestigatorDraft to raise awareness and celebrate for rare disease research 🔬! Tun…
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 19:43
@ UpliftingAth
Elevating, celebrating, and funding game-changing researchers #YID23 #WeTackleRare
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 18:16
@ UpliftingAth
𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗧 Almost showtime here in Philadelphia! The draft is set to begin at 7:00pm LIVESTR…
Sat, 02/04/2023 - 17:37
@ UpliftingAth
It’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! We’re beyond grateful for your support and commitment to o…
Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:54
@ UpliftingAth
𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒: 10 Emerging Scientists Score Research Grants Totaling $200,000 Elite athletes and scientists will stand shou…
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 t…
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 developi…
Wed, 01/04/2023 - 14:24
@ UpliftingAth
𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 Save up to 35% for the '23 Young Investigator Draft! Join us for a night which hon…
Tue, 01/03/2023 - 15:06
@ UpliftingAth
@BuffaloBills Our thoughts are with the @HamlinIsland family and @BuffaloBills. 💙
Fri, 12/30/2022 - 18:02
@ UpliftingAth
Uplifting Experiences put our mission into motion. In November, @RileyTDixon92 and the @RamsNFL welcomed a couple o…
Thu, 12/29/2022 - 13:14
@ UpliftingAth
@JDBertrand1 @Allstate @WeAreAFCA @dosomething @NDFootball Congratulations @JDBertrand1! We're proud to have you on…
Tue, 12/27/2022 - 16:12
@ UpliftingAth
𝗨𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Matthew Breeggemann is combining his experience as a rare kidney patient and his expertise as a kid…
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 astron…
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. • All Rights Reserved • Patent Pending | Uplifting Athletes is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization

  • Sponsorship
  • Donate Now
  • Contact Us