This is a rare story about Penn State football that’s not about the players. Or their head coach.
Instead, it’s all about the “for.”
For other people – for young kids, sick kids, kids with special needs, Special Olympics kids.
For THON, the Y, YSB, CVC and SAAB.
For the Buddy Walk, Friends of Jacklyn, the memory of Mack Brady and honorary Nittany Lion teammate Noah Benner.
For charity races and runs, bowling events and golf tournaments.
For hospitals, elementary schools, food banks and Pink Zones.
And on Saturday, it’s for “A Field Day Inspired By Lift For Life” — a football event at Circleville Park in State College for kids, hosted by the Penn State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes and featuring a bunch of Nittany Lion football players. (More details in a minute.)
The common denominator of them all?
The by – as in by the Nittany Lion football players. By the college students, for the community. Lift For Life president Ben Kline, a fifth-year linebacker and veteran of scores of community events, says he and his teammates are the ones who truly benefit by taking part – no matter what any cynics may say.
‘GUYS GENUINELY ENJOY IT’
“It’s really fun seeing how much the guys enjoy being around the kids and making an impact, and how much the kids enjoy being around us,” Kline said on Wednesday. “It’s that kind of mutual benefit people often overlook with community service. They often think it’s us doing just what we need to do to say we’re involved in the community. But the guys genuinely enjoy it. Seeing that and seeing how much people enjoy seeing us and helping them – well, that is really special to me.”
And to Kline’s head coach as well. The aforementioned programs are part of a massive community service effort by Penn State football that has delivered over 2,300 hours across 71 events since last year’s Lift For Life.The initiative is part of what James Franklin calls his multi-pronged approach to Penn State football – “athletically, academically, spiritually and in the community.”
“We’re making an emphasis on our four core values, which you have heard over and over again,” Franklin said back in March at the start of spring drills. “Last year there was some memorizing the positive attitude, great work ethic, compete in everything you do, willing to sacrifice. But we weren’t really living them.
“I want to make sure that we’re living the core values — not just reciting them – and thinking what they mean to the players and the program. That’s been an emphasis for us.”
Saturday’s event is Exhibit A. Penn State’s players will be out in force from 10 a.m. to noon, coaching and interacting with kids age 12 and under at the big community fields located west of State College between Valley Vista Drive and Circleville Road. There’s a $15 fee, and all it will go to the Uplifting Athletes’ non-profit efforts to fight rare diseases, like kidney cancer.
Kline and many of his teammates will be on hand. But he says the biggest hand goes to State College youngster Elliott Narber and his family.
“Saturday’s event was started by Elliott’s family,” Kline said earlier this week. “Elliott was diagnosed with a rare disease and he really wanted to give back to the rare disease community. The family thought the best way to do that was through Uplifting Athletes. They’ve been running this event and it’s grown every year. It’s great because it is run by a family in the community that has been directly touched by a rare disease. It lets us get involved directly. This is the third year we’ve been doing it every year. We’ll have a lot of guys there and we’ll have a lot of fun.”
SATURDAY’S EVENT
The event is very kid-focused – to RSVP, email inspiredbyliftforlife@gmail.com — and is modeled after the big-sized Lift For Lift.
“We’ll have a bunch of events for the kids,” Kline said. “It’s basically a scaled-down version of our Lift For Life. They’ll have tire runs and will push toy trucks. They’ll do a bunch of shuttles, 40-yard dash — things like that. They’ll get timed and get all of their results given to them by players. It will give them a chance to do what we kind of do on a daily basis and what we do with Lift For Life.”
Elliott was a bit of a shaggy-haired rock star at last year’s Lift For Life – the players loved him, carrying him all over the field. The event last year raised $151,990, pushing the total monies raised by the Penn State football team for the Kidney Cancer Association to more than $1 million over the past dozen years. This year’s event is slated for July 11 at the Penn State lacrosse field.
Because of their efforts, the Nittany Lion football squad won the Penn State CHAMPS Cup, awarded by the NCAA to a sports team on each campus that sees its members excel in academics, athletics, personal development, career development and community service. The team’s No. 1 champ in this regard is PJ Mullen, Penn State’s director of player development and community relations.
ALL OK WITH PJ
A former morning radio show celebrity at B94.5 with a litany of Nittany personal and professional ties on and off campus and across the region, the 30-year-old Mullen is effervescent and ever-present. A 2007 PSU grad from the Philly area, he also teaches at Penn State and defines the term ubiquitous.
“PJ Mullen is doing an unbelievable job with us,” Franklin said. “He’s involved with our players on a day-to-day basis, involved in the community, and has great institutional and community knowledge.”
Mullen sees his role as being a big brother to the team’s 100-plus players, giving them – and their families – information, enlightenment, support and opportunities. He holds resume workshops, helps set up internships, transitions freshmen players into college life and makes sure they all understand all the responsibilities that come with being a Penn State football player.
“When I was 20, I didn’t know what it meant to be involved like this, to make a contribution to the community,” Mullen said. “Penn State football isn’t just about the campus or the town – our community is the entire state, thousands of alumni and fans. We impact so many people. Coach Franklin makes sure everyone understands that responsibility and leads by example.”
Mullen says Penn State’s players – many of them still teenagers – are touched by that impact.
“It’s all about the human element, signing autographs for 300 people, connecting with a young kid at a hospital, volunteering with Special Olympics,” Mullen said. “I hear firsthand what a difference it makes in their lives. Coming back from an event, we’ll be riding along and I can hear them on their cells.
“They’re texting messages to their moms and families, all excited by where they were and what they did. Sometimes, they’re more pumped than if they had scored the winning touchdown against Ohio State.”
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