Major League Baseball Players Help with Recovery Efforts



While their fellow Major Leaguers had their sights set on the World Series and the post-season, baseball players LaTroy Hawkins and J.C. Romero traveled to the Gulf Coast to help Volunteers of America clients recovering from Katrina.

The ballplayers visited Bayou La Batre, Ala., and Gulfport, Miss. in October 2005 to distribute food and other supplies with the goal of inspiring others to help hurricane victims in the region.

“Major Leaguers have a tremendous amount of respect for the work Volunteers of America has done, not only in getting aid to the neediest of the needy affected by Katrina, but for the great work and services they provide all across the country every single day,” Hawkins said. “We encourage others to follow their lead and get involved. Having seen the damage and destruction, I know that the need is not going to disappear overnight. These people will need our continued support for quite some time.”

Following Hurricane Katrina, the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Major League baseball players pledged to help Volunteers of America with its long-term goal of rebuilding the hurricane ravaged communities in Alabama and Mississippi. As part of this partnership, Hawkins and Romero worked at Volunteers of America’s “Love In Deed” warehouse that served more than 50,000 hurricane victims in Alabama and Mississippi, donated sports equipment to a high school in Bayou La Batre, distributed food and other supplies to families and individuals affected by the hurricane, and helped rebuild a home. Matt Lawton, a right fielder for the New York Yankees, joined Hawkins and Romero for a tour of Volunteers of America’s mobile medical clinic in Gulfport that has served over 9,000 hurricane victims, many of whom are children.

“Volunteers of America is proud to partner with the Major League Baseball Players Trust to help rebuild the lives of hurricane victims in Bayou La Batre and Gulfport,” Volunteers of America National President Charles Gould said. “We are fortunate to have the Players Trust on our team.”

The Major League Baseball Players Trust partnered with Volunteers of America in 2002 to promote the nurturing and well-being of America’s children and their families. The partnership features the personal involvement of Major League baseball players and their families with a variety of programs conducted by Volunteers of America’s local offices throughout the United States. For more information about the Major League Baseball Players Trust, visit www.MLBPLAYERS.com.