The Philadelphia Eagles Running Back and SLUHN team up with the AthLife Foundation to bring a unique impact to the interscholastic sports landscape.

Easton, PA (Dec. 19, 2024) - The AthLife Foundation, a non-profit organization grounded in positive youth development through sport and fueled by an unwavering belief in human potential, is thrilled to announce the expansion of their platform’s reach to 11 high schools and 10 middle schools across the Greater Lehigh Valley and beyond. Key support from St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN), the Michael Ann and Saquon Barkley (MASB) Hope Foundation and Representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will positively impact more than 3,000 of the region’s student-athletes throughout the 2024-25 academic year.

The AthLife Foundation provides grant funding, training and industry leading program resources to schools, helping to establish critical professional Academic Athletic Coach staff positions. These individuals work year round, tapping into a student’s passion for their sport and athletics, driving academic achievement, providing holistic development and better preparing student-athletes for post high school success. 

Leading the way in the region is the Whitehall-Coplay School District, who made the move this school year to establish these critical staff positions. Saquon Barkley, a 2015 Zephyr graduate, has made meaningful financial donations to his alma mater over the last two years. Coupled with funding from St. Luke’s and the additional support from the Commonwealth of PA, the District was in solid positioning to scale their efforts in 2024-25. 

Athletic Director Bob Hartman, who has been the principal architect of the high school and middle school program, is seeing the benefits first hand. “Thanks to the generosity of Saquon and St. Luke's we have been able to do so much more with assisting our student-athletes in grades 8-12,” commented Hartman. “The academic support and mentoring that has been established, with increased funding and time on task, has been a game changer for us. We have been able to make a difference in the lives of so many students.”

“Having the opportunity to use proceeds from our foundation to support student-athletes become true students so they can continue to perform is part of our mission,” commented George Makhoul, MASB Hope Foundation Board Member. “The way Whitehall runs their program, they invest resources into making sure the student-athlete has a true team around them in order to succeed academically.” 

Pennsylvania State Representatives Jeanne McNeill, Michael Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer played integral roles in securing the additional funds to grow the project’s influence that now reaches Berks, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton County schools. 

“I’m proud to have worked with Representatives Schweyer and Schlossberg in partnership with the AthLife Foundation, St. Luke’s University Health System and the Michael Ann and Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation to move this project forward and help student-athletes across the Lehigh Valley,” commented Representative Jeanne McNeill. “While Saquon continues to do amazing things on the football field, he has again stepped up to give back to his community and help develop coaches who will mentor and inspire athletes for years to come. I’d also like to thank WCSD Athletic Director Bob Hartman and the coaching staff of the middle and high schools for bringing this program to the District, providing these important staff positions for current and future athletes.” 

The AthLife Foundation is currently in its fourth year as the official student-athlete development partner with SLUHN. Senior Network Administrator for Sports Medicine Relationships, Dr. John Hauth, has led the drive to provide their partner schools and districts with comprehensive student-athlete support and resources for many years.

“The importance of partnership, especially with an organization like the Michael Ann and Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation, is fundamental to St. Luke’s,” said John Hauth, St. Luke’s Senior Network Administrator for Sports Medicine Relationships. “Saquon is a superior athlete, but one of the goals that clearly comes through while talking with Saquon, his mother Tonya and other members of the Foundation is that they want this to be about the whole person. They want to lift up kids and give them the tools they need and the opportunities they deserve.”

For a complete list of schools receiving support from this partnership, please click here.