When is a trading card more than just a trading card? When it has the power to do good. When it can be a source of inspiration to the person holding it. When just purchasing it can help to raise funds for a worthwhile cause. A trading card is more than just a trading card when it is Lauren Hill’s Heroic Inspirations rookie card from Upper Deck.

When we first heard Lauren Hill’s story back in November, the Upper Deck team looked immediately to what we could do to help. We reached out to the family, the school and The Cure Starts Now Foundation to see what could be done. Having had success with Heroic Inspirations campaigns for others suffering from the similar conditions like Jack Hoffman, Jaclyn Murphy and Jack Miller, we knew we could do something special for Lauren.

We got to it and today we were so happy to announce the cards were available to the public with all the proceeds benefiting The Cure Starts Now Foundation. Her regular rookie card can be had for just $10 and it shows her making her memorable lay up for Mount St. Joseph University.

What’s more powerful perhaps are Lauren’s own words on the back of the card which provide incredible inspiration to anyone who reads them.

And to make things even more special, Upper Deck was able to have Lauren sign a limited amount of autograph labels that were affixed to rare parallel versions of her rookie card. Given the tight time constraints in getting these cards to the market, using these labels made it easier for Lauren to sign before the cards were completed. Rare autograph versions of her rookie card can be had for just $50 on The Cure Starts Now website.

Upper Deck would like to thank Lauren Hill for her inspiration and for the opportunity to bring these special collectibles to fans of her story.