ECU Football Players Raise Money For Hurricane Relief
September 12, 2005 | Football
Sept. 12, 2005
By Ryan Downey
GREENVILLE, N.C. - When the country is in trouble, it needs its best and brightest to step up.
Some of ECU's best and brightest, after seeing the images beamed in from Louisiana and other states ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, have answered the call.
Representing their teammates, East Carolina football tri-captains Gary Freeman, Chris Moore and Richard Koonce presented a gift of $2,000 to the Red Cross Monday in a gesture meant to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina, including the Tulane football program, rebuild their lives.
"We think we have it hard going to practice every day but those guys are going through a lot more," said Freeman. "Their lives have been changed and they are missing school but they still have to concentrate on playing football, so we thought whatever little thing we could do to help them out like raise some money and let them know we care from East Carolina. "The players as a whole, after seeing it on television, know that Tulane is going through a lot, and as Conference USA members, we wanted to do anything we could to help."
Nobody who has watched the news, or for that matter a football game, during the last two weeks has missed the images from the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The storm has left scenes of destruction from the flooded streets of New Orleans all the way into parts of Georgia. Katrina left a swath of destruction unseen during this country's history.
ECU Head Coach Skip Holtz took time to say how was proud of his player's effort.
"That speaks volumes about these players," Holtz said. "To raise money by pulling it out of their own pockets speaks volumes for the leadership we have on this team. I've said in the past how impressed I've been with the senior leadership and the initiative role they've taken to lead this football team. Things like this really stand out as a huge positive for this class."
According to local Red Cross officials, there are currently 35 evacuees from hurricane ravaged areas living in Pitt County. Over five hundred million dollars has been raised by the Red Cross nationally.
