In the effort to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina, Southern Conference member institutions have done numerous projects to raise money and collect goods and will continue to do so throughout the semester. Below is just a brief look at the efforts around the SoCon. Check back for more updates:
ASU Athletes To Collect For Hurricane Relief Saturday
BOONE, N.C. -Appalachian State University student-athletes, cheerleaders and athletic trainers will team up with ASU's Student Athlete Advisory Board to collect donations for the American Red Cross' Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts before and during Appalachian football's home opener versus Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 17.
Donations will be collected in ASU's new tailgating zones, at the Kidd Brewer Stadium gates and at concession areas throughout the stadium. The total amount raised will be announced during the third quarter of the ASU-CCU contest.
Field Hockey Donates to Hurricane Relief
by Appalachian Sports Information
September 14, 2005
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University field hockey has joined the ranks of those aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina along the gulf coast. Head coach Mandy Latz and the rest of the Mountaineers recently donated nearly $500 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.
The team elected to donate their own money to the Red Cross, which was then matched by the coaching staff in a team effort to help those affected by the hurricane.
“As a team I think it’s important to recognize how good we have it,” said Latz. “Our team is made up of incredibly gifted individuals who have tremendous opportunities. It’s good for us to reflect on how fortunate we are and help where we can. It helps us to keep things in perspective and see the big picture outside of our season.”
Appalachian State Men’s Basketball Participates in Online Auction to Raise Money for Hurricane Victims
BOONE, N.C. - Head coach Houston Fancher and the Appalachian State University men’s basketball team have joined with a nationwide network of coaches and sports figures to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The Coaches Care effort features a major online sports auction with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to Habitat for Humanity. The online auction starts Wednesday, September 14 and can be accessed by clicking here.
“We’re honored to participate in this relief effort,” said Fancher. “We feel like we have put together an outstanding getaway package and hope that people will choose to get involved with us as we try to do our part in the relief effort.”
For the auction, ASU has donated what is featured as ?the most comprehensive getaway package offered in the auction.’ The high bidder for ASU’s weekend in Boone will get two nights lodging at the beautiful new Comfort Suites, Friday night dinner for two at Pssghettis Homemade Italian Restaurant, two game tickets to Saturday afternoon's ASU vs. Davidson basketball game, a $100 Gift pack of ASU gear from Carolina Traders at the game, a $50 gift certificate from the Mast General Store, ski lift tickets and much more.
The auction also features approximately 45 other items up for bid from both the professional and collegiate ranks.
CofC "Laps 4 Life Swim-a-Thon" Concludes with Goal Exceeded
With thousands affected by Hurricane Katrina, the College of Charleston swimming & Diving teams continue to do its part to raise funds for those in need. Saturday morning, the Cougars exceeded the $10,000 mark in hte "Laps 4 Life Swim-a-Thon.
For over a week, swimming and diving team members have been raising money through a fundraising effort called "Laps 4 Life Swim-a-Thon". The goal has been to swim as many lengths of the pool as they can during a two hour period, thus raising money through pledges and flat donations. The coaches have kept track of the number of lengths everybody swims.
The swim team completed it's swim-a-thon fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina Victims Saturday morning. During the two hour swim, 31 swimmers collectively completed 8,227 lengths which converts to 137 miles of swimming.
The top swimmers were Sophomore Jimmy Cule with 374 lengths, Freshman Eric Lehman with 354 lengths, and Sophomore Megan McKinley with 331 lengths. All three swimmers are distance swimmers for the Cougars.
By the time all pledges are collected this coming week, the Swimming & Diving Team will have collected over $10,000 for the American Red Cross and the hurricane relief effort.
The team will continue to collect donations through September 23rd.
If you would like to make a donation, please make checks payable to the American Red Cross and send the donation to:
Bruce Zimmerman
Head Swimming & Diving Coach
College of Charleston, Stern Center Pool
66 George St.
Charleston, SC 29424
Elon Katrina relief to focus on Gulfport, Miss.
Following a successful early response to Hurricane Katrina, in which the Elon community raised more than $14,000 for the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, the university is now partnering with other organizations in Alamance County to focus relief efforts on Gulfport, Miss.
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> The Burlington Times-News is coordinating Operation Gulfport because Gulfport is a city similar in population to our community, and has not been receiving as much attention and media coverage as New Orleans in the aftermath of the storm.
Elon's Kernodle Center for Service Learning is working to identify an organization or area of Gulfport where Elon can concentrate its efforts. Service trips to that city will be organized during fall break (Oct. 14-18), Winter Term and spring break. Students, faculty and staff who wish to participate in those service trips should contact the Kernodle Center for more details.
In addition, Elon's continued fundraising efforts will provide money to buy materials and provide direct victim assistance for the service trips to Gulfport.
Fund drive collections will take place at the Sept. 17, Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 Phoenix football games at Rhodes Stadium. Donations can also be made online through the Katrina Relief page on the Elon Web site.
More details on Elon's relief efforts in Gulfport will be forthcoming and will be posted on the Katrina Relief Web page and on E-net.
Furman
Furman responds to Katrina
In response to Hurricane Katrina, Furman has enrolled several displaced college students, established a relief fund and has offered on-campus housing for university students and their families who were forced to evacuate.
As of Tuesday, the university had enrolled seven new students whose college plans have been directly affected by the hurricane. All were scheduled to attend Tulane University this fall, and they reported to
campus on Tuesday for orientation activities. Five of the students are freshmen, while one is a junior and the other a senior.
According to Woody O'Cain, director of admissions, the university is currently working with another 10 students regarding admission. Classes begin at Furman on Sept. 13.
The has also established a Katrina Disaster Relief Fund to which the Furman community (alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and students) can contribute. All of the donations will be sent to the American Red
Cross. Call 1-800-787-7534 for more information. The official address for the fund is:
Katrina Disaster Relief Fund
Development Office
Furman University
3300 Poinsett Highway
Greenville , S.C. 29613
Before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast area, the university offered on-campus housing to all Furman students and their families who were forced to evacuate. Four families arrived on campus ahead of the
Hurricane (three of the students are upperclassmen and one is an incoming freshman. The university would continue to accommodate any students and their families who need to come to campus early.
The university is making plans to collect supplies and donations for those in need. Operations "Spare Change," "Get Ready for School" and "Swipe a Meal" will allow students, parents, faculty and staff to offer
assistance. Furman's orientation staff will begin the collection effort during a parents' program on Tuesday evening, Sept. 6. and at a September 14 student event featuring hypnotist Tom DeLuca.
A collection effort has also been proposed for the Furman Paladins opening home football game on September 17. All donations will be directed to the Red Cross. The university will gather backpacks, pencils, paper, lunch boxes and other school supplies to be distributed in the hurricane areas and in those neighboring states taking responsibility for educating displaced children. Furman students may drop off supplies at the campus-wide Activities Fair on Sept. 20.
Students will also be able to swipe their meal card and donate the price of one dining hall meal to the relief efforts. Those interested in donating time or money to the relief efforts should contact Furman's Chaplains' Office at 864-294-2133 or susan.bennett@furman.edu .
Furman will work with local organizations (schools, churches, etc.) to help coordinate relief efforts and plans to organize a group of faculty, staff and students to travel to the Gulf Coast area to assist in a
construction/reclamation project.
Georgia Southern Men's Basketball Offers Aid to Hurricane Katrina Victims
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team and the DeSoto Hilton in Savannah, Ga. have teamed up in an effort to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims, in an announcement from head coach Jeff Price Tuesday.
The Georgia Southern men’s basketball package includes two nights at the historic Hilton Savannah DeSoto Hotel and two complimentary breakfasts.
AllCoachNetwork.com and coaches all across America have teamed up to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A major online sports auction will highlight the effort, with one hundred percent of the proceeds going directly to Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization that builds homes for low-income families.
The website AllCoachesCare.com has been created to provide more information and to give coaches a place where they can make their contribution to the online auction, which will be run by SnappyAuctions.com. The goal of the organizers is to raise money through an online auction and cash donations. AllCoachNetwork.com will administer the auction in conjunction with Snappy Auctions eBay Drop-Off Stores. SnappyAuction.com will handle all of the listing and shipping of items for the auction, which will begin on Sept. 14 on eBay.
“There couldn’t be a better time or cause for people to come together and help,” said Price. “I urge everyone to bid online to make this auction a tremendous success.”
For over a century, the Historic Hilton Savannah DeSoto Hotel has been renowned for its traditional southern hospitality. Originally built in 1890, the Hilton Savannah DeSoto offers the same excellent service that made the DeSoto Hotel famous throughout the south as Savannah's grandest hotel.
Beginning on September 14, bidders can go to www.snappyauctions.com and connect to the All Coaches Care online auction on eBay. Items will continue to be posted on the auctions as donations are received from the coaches.
WCU Athletics Department Raises Money for Hurricane Katrina Relief For continued support contact the American Red Cross
Cullowhee, N.C. - The WCU football team were not the only winners on Saturday, upsetting second-ranked Furman 41-21.
The Lady Catamount Softball team started the day off on a high note by collecting over $1,300 to go towards the relief of Hurricane Katrina.
Members of the team were stationed at all entrances of E.J. Whitmire Stadium with homemade collection boxes. Time was also spent walking the parking lots for donations from the tailgaiters, who proved to be very generous.
"Our hearts went out to all those affected by Katrina," said WCU head coach and organizer of the effort Megan Smith. "We wanted to do something to help out, and for an hour and a half of work, $1,300 is not bad."
The team spent many hours of their time decorating signs to grab people's attention to donate money. Their hard work did not go unnoticed and game-goers appeared thankful for the opportunity to help out.
"We appreciate the effort of the softball team on behalf of the victims from the hurricane and are very grateful to all those who contributed to the cause," said Chip Smith, Western's Director of Athletics.
Other plans to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief are underway for the rest of the year.
All proceeds went directly to the American Red Cross Relief Fund and the victims of Hurricane Katrina. For more information on the Red Cross and their relief efforts, visit www.redcross.org.