Athletics, Red Cross team up
Issue date: 9/2/05 Section: Sports
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UK student-athletes, including members of the women's basketball team, and American Red Cross volunteers will be collecting donations for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts Sunday at the UK-UofL football game.
Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced that teams of volunteers in American Red Cross apparel will be collecting money at the Commonwealth Stadium entry gates starting at 1:30 p.m.
"This is the biggest natural disaster the Red Cross has faced in history," said Red Cross Bluegrass Area Chapter President Executive Director Paul Hay. "We've got 500 shelters open down there, and they're so busy we don't have any numbers to give (as far as victims that have been aided)."
"It's catastrophic," Barnhart said. "College football looks pale in comparison to what's going on down there."
UK Hoops Coach Mickie DeMoss, a Tallulah, La., (247 miles northeast of New Orleans) native, said her niece, who lives in New Orleans, evacuated from the city while her brother and sister are housing 10 refugees in their home in the northern part of the state.
"It's a very personal situation for me," DeMoss said. "It's very painful...their lives as they know them are no longer."
UK Hoops assistant coach Pam Stackhouse is from Jennings, La., about 170 miles from New Orleans.
"Mickie's team is jumping right in the middle of it, and we appreciate that," Barnhart said, referring to the volunteer effort.
Hay said anyone wishing to make donations that cannot attend Sunday's game can use their credit card on the American Red Cross website, which can be linked to from UKAthletics.com, or call 1-800-HELPNOW.
Parking Changes
Parking for Sunday's game will be slightly altered due to the muddy conditions of the Good Barn field and the other grass lots surrounding Commonwealth Stadium used for game day parking.
"Parking and Transportation Services has decided to close the lots indefinitely, rather than risk trapping vehicles in the mud," read a statement released by Parking and Transportation Services.
According to the statement, the rains from Hurricane Katrina have "saturated the ground" and made it unusable for the mass parking that usually occurs during football games.
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