Health Equity Initiative

As defined by the CDC, "Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health." Uplifting Athletes' Health Equity Initiative was established to ensure that health equity is at the forefront of our programming. It is a part of who we are and what we do every day.

The goal of Health Equity at Uplifting Athletes is to provide equitable opportunities for underrepresented medical professionals to be recognized and engaged with our funding opportunities, provide accessible and one-of-a-kind Uplifting Experiences for people impacted by rare diseases, and to educate collegiate and professional athletes in hope that their platforms can help close the gap on health disparities.

This requires a multifaceted approach through our programming:

• Young Investigator Draft: Our commitment to guarantee a minimum of one researcher from an underrepresented background as defined by the National Institute of Health is recognized through the Draft. 
• Researchers Travel Stipend: Our commitment to guarantee 20% of our stipends are allocated to future or current researchers from underrepresented backgrounds as defined by the National Institute of Health. We will be traveling the nation and virtually hosting speaking engagements with academic research institutions and medical colleges to bring awareness to our various funding streams available to underrepresented researchers. Our goal for the 2023 calendar year is to engage in 25 specific speaking opportunities and we ensure that at least 10 of the speaking engagements primarily serve students from underrepresented backgrounds.
• Uplifting Experiences: Our Uplifting Experiences program is a deliberate and coordinated effort to connect people impacted by rare diseases with an athlete, team or sports organization for a unique and memorable experience. We guarantee that all of our Uplifting Experiences are 100% accessible to all people impacted by rare disease.
• Leadership Development Conference: We provide an educational session on health equity for the over 70 Division I athletes who attend our annual conference.