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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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Kent State

Chapter Established in 2019
Life Time Total $1,931.25

Uplifting Athletes Mission

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

Kent State

Chapter Leadership

Current Chapter Leaders

Isaac Vance
President
Isaac Vance
President

Isaac Vance was a teammate of Antwan Dixon, the Kent State Chapter founder. Inspired by Antwan and his rare disease journey, Isaac became a chapter leader at Kent State after participating in the inaugural Kent State Lift For Life in 2019 and helped oversee the Golden Flashes Lift For Life in 2021 as Chapter President. Isaac attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In February, he was a grant recipient presenter at the Young Investigator Draft celebration and is making sure the Kent State football program is using their platform as college football student athletes to serve and inspire hope in the Rare Disease Community.

“One of my great friends and former teammate, Antwan Dixon, struggles with Aplastic Anemia,” Vance said. “Seeing his daily fight and getting involved because of him in the Rare Disease Community is something that has impacted my life.”

The native of Las Cruces, New Mexico has played in 35 games for the Golden Flashes as a slot receiver and on special teams. In 2020 he finished third on the team in receptions with 17 catches in four games. Isaac is a two-time member of the Academic All-Mac Team and was honored as the 2019-2020 recipient of the Lou Holtz Scholarship Endowment.

Official Kent State Bio

Nico Bolden
Vice President
Nico Bolden
Vice President

Nico Bolden became a chapter leader at Kent State in 2021 and serves as the Vice President. He has assisted in landing NFL prospects to be part of Reps For Rare Diseases and helped oversee the Golden Flashes Lift For Life in 2021. Nico attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2021 and 2022 and was part of the Young Investigator Draft celebration earlier this year to help ensure the Golden Flashes football program is using their platform as college student athletes to serve and inspire hope in the Rare Disease Community.

A graduate student transfer from the University of New Mexico, Bolden saw his first action for Kent State in 2021 and had his most productive collegiate season. He appeared in 12 games, making six starts at safety. Nico finished with 85 total tackles, a couple of interceptions, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery

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 positive 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

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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!

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