UD Basketball Teams Donate T-Shirts to Houston
Aug 29, 2017 | Stacey Ortman, director of public relations
DUBUQUE, Iowa – Forty University of Dubuque basketball T-shirts will be shipped to Houston this week to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Robbie Sieverding, head men’s basketball coach at UD, and Mark Noll, head women's basketball coach at UD, were inspired to send 20 tees each after seeing a tweet by their coaching counterpart at the University of Houston.
Kelvin Sampson, head men’s basketball coach at the University of Houston, asked men’s and women’s basketball coaches across the country to send 20 T-shirts and 10 pairs of sneakers – or whatever can be spared –to help with relief efforts in response to Harvey. The request occurred after Sampson said he had many friends in the coaching profession not only offer prayers and thoughts for Houstonians, but also ask how they could help.
“All of our hearts go out to those in need during these devastating times,” Sampson tweeted on Monday. “We will get everything to the right agencies to be distributed. Thank you and God Bless you all. Please continue to keep Houston in your prayers.”
Sieverding and Noll plan to send 40 UD tees and other items by Thursday.
“It’s great for Coach Sampson to get involved. He is the head coach at the University of Houston and he is trying his best to help out the many people who are in need in his area,” Sieverding said. “I’ve seen many programs via Twitter giving shoes, shirts, and other clothing items, which will hopefully provide some comfort for the terrible situation in Texas.”
Sampson’s original tweet requesting donations has been retweeted more than 4,700 times and liked over 6,000 times. According to the University of Houston’s athletic website, the men’s basketball staff will work with officials from the Red Cross, Star of Hope, and Greater Houston Community Fund/Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund to distribute clothing and other items collected to those in need.
Some shirts on the way to Houston --from the University of Dubuque! #houstonstrong pic.twitter.com/xGoYONTM5k
— Robbie Sieverding (@udbasketball) August 29, 2017
