LEXINGTON ? Kentucky head baseball coach John Cohen and the Wildcat baseball program have donated several items for auction to raise money to aid the relief efforts for the Gulf Coast Region hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Through a coaches auction network set up by Virginia Tech men?s basketball coach Seth Greenberg, UK has offered a package deal that can be bid on with the proceeds being donated directly to Habitat for Humanity.
?This is something that all coaches, male and female at every level must get involved with,? Greenberg said. ?As coaches we always talk about the team concept. If we are going to make any impact on the hurricane relief efforts, we need to come together as a team to assist all those who desperately need our help.?
Included in the package is a baseball autographed by the Wildcat coaching staff, an autographed photo of head coach John Cohen, two UK Baseball t-shirts, one free week of baseball camp at the UK Winter Baseball School, two tickets to the UK-North Carolina basketball game this winter and a University of Kentucky license plate.
The package offered by UK baseball is one of hundreds from around the country that has been set up through the website www.allcoachescare.com. The auction begins on Sept. 14 on eBay.
?Having grown up in Alabama and spent time living in both Mississippi and Louisiana, the effects of Hurricane Katrina have touched me on a personal level,? said Kentucky coach John Cohen. ?Everyone in American is reaching out in every way imaginable, and this auction is another tremendous example of a way we can help in the recovery.?
Habitat for Humanity International is launching ?Operation Home Delivery,? a three-phase response to help provide assistance and rebuilding opportunities in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina.
?First responders are providing immediate aid right now, but, soon, efforts will be moving toward helping people rebuild their lives and their homes,? said Jonathan Reckford, Habitat?s chief executive officer. ?We are working now to make sure we have just such a plan in place when conditions are at a point that rebuilding can get under way.?
