Athletes
raise $11,000 for Katrina victims
By
Cristina Madrid
Daily Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
A coalition of student athletes and members of the Student Athlete Advisory
Council (SAAC), went into the community and raised $11,000 last weekend for
fellow department members whose families were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The athletic department had three members whose families were hit by the storm,
including two women’s volleyball players and the head coach of cross-country/track
and field.
The SAAC and approximately 100 student athletes headed into seven Long Beach
neighborhoods knocking door-to-door and setting up makeshift stands in an attempt
to raise any funds for the cause, said Kevin Cape, president of SAAC.
Donation stations were placed in front of Trader Joe’s and Bristol Farms,
where student athletes approached residents for their help.
Student athletes from various sports, including men’s baseball and basketball,
track, women’s tennis and many more contributed about six hours each
over the weekend, consisting of two hours of contact time and four hours of
active community service.
Cape repeatedly expressed his gratitude for all the members who took part in
the project and said if it wasn’t for the manpower of the student athletes,
he couldn’t imagine how the idea would have launched. He also thanked
the Cal State Long Beach administration who played a vital part in this effort
as well.
Overall, SAAC’s weekend community crusade gathered $11,000 and will continue
to grow as they finish a donation sweep this week, Cape said. He added that
the student organization will head out Thursday to eight local strip malls
to collect additional cash for the cause.
Steve Cardinalli, vice president of SAAC, partook in the project along with
his fellow athletes and felt his participation in the project was necessary
because it was directly “helping a face.” Another team player was
Brett Andrade, who Cape said was instrumental in organizing the various groups.
The organization is very happy with the outcome of the project and more than
doubled their original goal of $5,000.
Cape attributes the exceeded profit to the members’ outcome. This is
not SAAC’s first charitable contribution, but it is the first to reach
this level of magnitude.
Cape’s proactive approach came after reading a feature story published
in the Wall Street Journal about the efforts of Hurricane Katrina. He said
he was moved by the article and had to do something.
Once the fundraising project is finished on Friday, SAAC will go back to the
university’s administration and form a committee in order to find out
how the money will be distributed among the families.
The athletic department’s organization will not be donating money to
any organizations, such as the Red Cross, because they feel they have a unique
opportunity of directly aiding families whose family members are familiar faces
on campus. |
