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January 30, 2006 Volume 30, Issue 20 |
Athletics completes ‘MSU Warms the Coast’ drive
MSU freshman volleyball player Nicole Palazzo assists a coastal resident with the selection of a donated coat.
Sixteen Mississippi State student-athletes representing six varsity sports delivered more than 1,000 jackets and coats to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in January.
The donation marked the athletic program’s final contribution in its “MSU Warms The Coast” drive to assist Hurricane Katrina victims. MSU employees and students delivered more than 6,000 warm weather items to the coast during the nearly two-month-long drive.
“On behalf of the entire Mississippi State family, I want to thank those involved for their outstanding support in helping MSU make this drive special,” said Director of Athletics Larry Templeton. “I also want to thank our sister institutions around the country for their donations. I’m not sure that the gesture made didn’t bring more warmth than the coats themselves.”
The delegation of Bulldog student-athletes, coaches and administrators made stops at Pass Christian High School, Biloxi High School, Gulf Coast Boys and Girls Club, and two regional distribution centers. At each stop, the MSU group met with displaced hurricane victims and distributed coats and jackets.
MSU acquired the charitable donations from a variety of sources, including a public coat drive at its final two home football games and a solicitation to NCAA Division I athletic programs around the country.
The initial donations from the football games were shipped to the coast in time for Christmas, while the jackets acquired through the contributions of approximately 80 other colleges and universities were taken to the coast just after the holidays.