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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.

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Illinois

Chapter Established in 2011
Life Time Total $144,821.29

Uplifting Athletes Mission

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

Illinois

Chapter Leadership

Current Chapter Leaders

Alex Palczewski
President
Alex Palczewski
President

Alex Palczewski played along the offensive line early in his career with former Illinois Chapter leader Nick Allegretti . He volunteered to step into a leadership role during his senior year. Alex attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2020 and 2021, and as the chapter President will play a key and instrumental role in helping the Illinois Chapter continue its mission to inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope.

The native of Illinois has started for the Fighting Illini since his true freshman year in 2017. Over the last four seasons, Alex had started 40 straight games including 29 in a row at right tackle before an injury ended his 2020 season. His 40 career starts is only eight shy of tying the school record. He was a third-team All Big Ten selection following the 2019 season and played in the first bowl game of his career.

Official Illinois Bio

Michael Marchese
Vice President
Michael Marchese
Vice President

Michael Marchese is the third member of his family to serve in a leadership role for an Uplifting Athletes chapter. His oldest brother Joe served as the Maryland Chapter President and older brother Jimmy served as an Illinois Chapter leader. Michael attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2020 and as a chapter leader will play a key and instrumental role in helping the Illinois Chapter continue its mission to inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope.

The native of Illinois started his career as a walk on for the Illini and has developed into a contributor on defense and special teams. He was awarded a scholarship during the offseason prior to the 2021 campaign. Over the last three seasons he has appeared in 27 games, making three starts at safety in 2018 and two starts as a linebacker in 2020. Heโ€™s registered nearly 50 tackles, a couple fumble recoveries and a pair of interceptions. Michael has a twin brother, Henry, who plays for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Official Illinois Bio

Uplifting Athletes Programs

Rare Disease Research

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

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Uplifting Leaders

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

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Uplifting Leaders
Rare Disease Awareness

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

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Uplifting Experiences

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

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Uplifting Experiences

Fundraising Initiatives

Illinois Football Lift For Life 2022
$7,341.25 Amount Raised
10 Campaigns
View Results
Illinois Touchdown Pledge Drive 2019
$575.00 Amount Raised
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!

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    • Reps For Rare Diseases
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    • Touchdown Pledge Drive
    • UA Ambassadors

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