Guest Post: Levi Norwood and Baylor’s Uplifting Athletes

Levi Norwood is a senior wide receiver at Baylor University. During this past season, Levi and his teammates were part of a very unique effort that raised attention to Cerebral Palsy: for every score against Kansas, supporters pledged donations that eventually raised over $6,000 for Cerebral Palsy research.

 

We asked Levi to talk about his experience with Uplifting Athletes which he was gracious enough to do and can be read below. Levi’s enthusiasm and passion for helping is easy to detect and we wish him all the best in life moving forward:

 

Over the course of the 2014 calendar year, my teammates and I on the Baylor University football team have been putting together fundraisers to raise money and awareness for Cerebral Palsy. Our desire to hold such events sparked from a relationship I have with a young student with Cerebral Palsy, Jacoby Burks at Midway High School in Waco, Texas. My relationship with him started during my freshman year when I was introduced to him at a high school football game by a former teacher. Over the next few years he was able to come to our practices and games, and over that time he has become an inspiration to us on the team.

At the beginning of this year, Uplifting Athletes reached out to us to talk about the possibility of starting a chapter at Baylor. Uplifting Athletes is a nonprofit organization that has a mission of raising awareness and money for rare diseases. Each university chapter is run by football players and each chapter has a different rare disease they support. There was no question that Jacoby and others with his condition were those we wanted to contribute to.

With our two events held this year we raised over $9000 in just our first year as a chapter. Our first event was a Lift for Life where we raised $3100. And our second event was held during our Homecoming game against Kansas. For that event, a Touchdown Pledge Drive, fans were able to go online and donate any amount of money for each touchdown we scored. Through donations and our touchdowns we were able to raise over $6000 for Cerebral Palsy.

Through our platform as college football players we are not only blessed to play football but also be role models and influencers throughout our community. It is our responsibility to be sure that the influence we make is positive. We are not only representing ourselves but also our team as a whole, Baylor University, and Waco.

For more information on Uplifting Athletes, visit their website at http://www.upliftingathletes.org/
God Bless,

Levi Norwood
President
Baylor Uplifting Athletes

 

We’re extremely grateful for Levi providing his story and encourage our community to vote for him for the 2015 Rare Disease Champion Award. You can do so by visiting the Uplifting Athletes website or by clicking here. Voting ends January 31st.

Photo Credit: Uplifting Athletes

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