This is the fourth in a four-part series about Boston-based relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina.
The Boston Red Sox may be in a struggle for their division, but that hasn’t stopped the team from raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The Red Sox Foundation donated $510,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in a special pre-game ceremony on Sept. 16. Fans and players contributed the money, and the Red Sox matched the fans’ contributions.
“The generosity and compassion of Red Sox Nation, our players and the Red Sox Wives never cease to amaze,” Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino said in a press release. “We were touched and inspired by the eagerness our fans showed to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina.”
Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is among the three Major League Baseball players who have donated the most to the relief effort: $50,000 each. Like Ortiz, the other two players, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Vladimir Guerrero and the Florida Marlins’ Carlos Delgado, are also from the Caribbean, where hurricanes are a constant threat. According to Lucchino, virtually every player on the Red Sox roster made a contribution to the hurricane relief effort.
“Some made personal donations,” Lucchino said. “Others housed displaced families. Several attended fundraisers away from the ballpark. Many took pictures with fans to raise additional funds. It was a true team effort.”
And the Red Sox organization isn’t the only New England franchise chipping in.
“I think a lot of people have a desire to contribute,” said Stacey James, spokesman for the New England Patriots. “The National Football League has gotten behind us very proactively and very aggressively.”
For the last three Tuesdays, the Patriots have sent players to Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod to spend time with Gulf Coast families stationed there, James said.
The team also established a relief fund for the victims of Hurricane Katrina through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. The organization is accepting donations through its website in increments of $25, and it gave away 170 lower-seating bowl tickets to the Sep. 8 season opener to those who donated more than $1,000.
Incentives like this help to raise more money from fans and players alike, James said.
Earlier this month, Patriots owner Robert Kraft offered to match the first $100,000 donated by Patriots players, coaches and staff.
“The players have all made donations through the Players’ Association,” James said.
Rena Clark, the vice president of community affairs and corporate philanthropy for the New England Patriots, said in a press release that several Louisiana-born NFL players were personally affected by Hurricane Katrina.
“We hope that the incentive of game tickets will encourage Patriots fans everywhere to donate to this extremely important cause,” she said.
The Boston Celtics were also swamped with donations, reaching their goal of raising $200,000 for hurricane relief less than two weeks after Katrina hit, according to Celtics spokeswoman Farra Borazil.
“We’ve been overwhelmed just to see our fans come out and support us like that,” Borazil said. “It just goes back to what a great family our fans are and how generous they are.”
The team continues to collect contributions, all of which will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Doc Rivers, the Celtics head coach, suggested the Celtics work with Habitat for Humanity because in the past, he has worked with the organization building houses for those in need, Borazil said.
Borazil said the Celtics are using their website to match the amount fans donate to Habitat for Humanity.
“That’s not to say that we might not work with another organization,” Borazil said. She added that they do not know how much has been donated to date because donations are still coming in.
Like the Patriots, the Celtics have an incentive programs for fans to give larger amounts. Fans who give more than $1,000 receive two tickets each to a home game during the first week of the basketball season, featuring a meet-and-greet with players and coaches on the floor after the game.
Borazil said more than 1,000 people have already donated $1,000 each. Two Boston Celtics players and their two primary owners will be in New York City on Friday to build a house in Rockefeller Center for Habitat for Humanity, which will be featured on NBC’s Today Show. The home will be shipped to New Orleans later.
The two players, Al Jefferson and Justin Reed, are both from Mississippi and were in their home state when Hurricane Katrina hit. Jefferson and Reed also participated in a program sponsored by the NBA Players’ Association, in which players with ties to the area took more than 20 tractor-trailer loads of supplies to families in need, Borazil said.
The Celtics’ Paul Pierce was one of a small number of NBA players to participate in a Nike, Inc. relief effort that brought apparel, footwear and sports balls to local evacuee centers in Houston as part of a league-sanctioned exhibition game at the Toyota Center.
More than $40 million has been donated by professional sports organizations in the United States. The NFL has led this effort by giving approximately 1 percent of its annual payroll, or $21 million.
In contrast, the NBA has donated about $10 million and MLB has donated about $9 million.
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