By Mason Kelley

GoHuskies.com

Jeff Lindquist wanted to be a part of something bigger than football. Siosifa Tufunga was looking for a way to give back and raise awareness. Michael Kneip saw an opportunity to show support for a teammate, while helping others.

When former Washington offensive linemen Colin Tanigawa approached his teammates about joining the Uplifting Athletes chapter he was starting at the university during his senior season, the quarterback and the two offensive linemen saw an opportunity.

They found a way to use their status as Division I athletes in a way Lindquist described as being “bigger than football.”

Tanigawa set the foundation. He did the “dirty work” to get things started. Once he graduated, the trio took the reins. Tufunga and Kneip went to a retreat in Chicago last month to learn more about the non-profit organization that raises money and awareness for rare diseases.

“Being a football player at a D-I, or any other level, you have a really cool platform and ability to raise awareness and funding that the average person can't,” Kneip said.

Once they learned how to set up and initiate the Uplifting Athletes infrastructure at Washington, they needed to find the cause – a rare disease – they would support.

Kaleb McGary provided the motivation. The redshirt freshman offensive lineman told his teammates about how his father, Justin, has struggled with multiple sclerosis. He talked about watching as his “Superman” found his “Kryptonite.”

“We were inspired by what Kaleb has gone through with his dad, so we wanted to go down that path a little bit,” Lindquist said.

Multiple sclerosis was too common a disease by itself to fit into the Uplifting Athletes platform. Pediatric multiple sclerosis, on the other hand, was a perfect match.

“We know what MS can do to a person and family, so thinking a kid might have to go through MS is a brutal thought for us, so we decided to make that our cause,” Lindquist said.

Armed with an idea and a cause, the group enlisted the help of their teammates to raise awareness. The group is still in the early stages, but the football players have already set up their first fund-raising event, “Lift For Life.”

During the program's most difficult workout of the summer, the Huskies will dedicate their training session to pediatric multiple sclerosis. They wanted to plan a larger, public event, but this is a strong start.

“We're dedicating our toughest workout to this this grueling disease,” Kneip said. “This is about more than doing it for the team. This could be the answer to a lot of prayers.”

Chris Petersen brought a Built For Life philosophy with him when he committed to coach the Huskies. As Kneip, Lindquist and Tufunga work to build Washington's Uplifting Athletes chapter, they see a parallel between the work they are doing and the importance their coach puts on being good people as well as football players.

“Built For Life is about being the best man you can be and this is one way we can help people,” Lindquist said. “This is so much bigger than football. It is a platform we have that can help us help more people. Uplifting Athletes is one of the ways we can support people and really love up on others.”

With a schedule filled with football and school, it is at times difficult for Washington's student athletes to be as active in the community as they would like. Kneip's goal is to help facilitate ways for his teammates to help the community by working an extra positive into things the team is already doing.

“We have a lot of guys on the team who want to get out and help in the community, but we usually just don't have the time,” Kneip said. “The fact that we can do a workout that we were already going to do and help raise awareness and funding for a disease is really cool.”

Now that the Huskies have set up their first Uplifting Athletes event, their goal is to get the program's fan base involved.

“We're doing a really cool thing, so we think our fan base will support us in a way that, instead of just giving money to the football program, they're giving us more power in a different way than they usually do,” Kneip said.

Kneip, Lindquist and Tufunga wanted to find a way to give back. They wanted to help others. They found a vehicle to accomplish that goal, establishing a foundation they plan to build on as their college careers continue.

“We're leaving a legacy here at UW,” Kneip said. “This is our first event. Hopefully it goes on for a long time and we can really make an impact.”

Click the link to visit Washington's Lift For Life page.