SU legends gather for Haiti

(Syracuse) Orange basketball All-American and NBA All-Star Derrick Coleman and many other former Syracuse basketball standouts and current Orange student-athletes are partnering with the American Red Cross, Time Warner Cable, Citadel Broadcasting for the 2010 ‘Cuse Cares Telethon to raise funds for disaster relief efforts in Haiti. The ‘Cuse Cares Telethon will be held Friday, February 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Coleman, Billy Owens, John Wallace, Todd Burgan, Roosevelt Bouie, Rafael Addison, Greg Monroe, Wendell Alexis, Lazarus Sims, Mike Hopkins, Gerry McNamara, Dale Shackelford, Billy Edelin, Howard Triche, Pearl Washington and Lawrence Moten and current Syracuse student-athletes will participate. Donations will be accepted by phone (1-800-451-9269 or (315) 451-9269) and online (www.syrarc.org) using VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Pledges will also be accepted by phone. “The ‘Cuse Cares Telethon came about when I was visiting for the Georgetown game in January,” Coleman said. “I spoke with Coach Boeheim, (athletics director) Daryl Gross, and (Chancellor) Nancy Cantor about having former student-athletes come back to Syracuse to help those in need in Haiti and the idea of a telethon came up. When I called the rest of the Syracuse basketball family there was immediate support. When you see a disaster happening anywhere in the world, it affects and hurts everyone. We want to help.” During the three hour telethon, the former basketball stars and current Syracuse student-athletes will answer phones to accept donations at the American Red Cross office in Syracuse. “Once again ‘Cuse Cares, along with our SU legends, is here to help and make the world better,” said Syracuse director of athletics Dr. Daryl Gross. “We think this will make some impact in trying to help those in need. I want to thank Derrick Coleman in inspiring us to do the telethon after many conversations in regard to how we could assist. We hope for massive participation and support for those who suffer.” "The American Red Cross has had an ongoing presence in Haiti since 2004, supporting local disaster preparedness, HIV education, malaria prevention and measles immunization initiatives,” said Red Cross Regional CEO Marci Henderson. “When the earth began to shake on January 12, 2010, the American Red Cross staff of 14, including head of the local delegation Matthew Marek, reacted quickly by providing first aid, assessing the damage and distributing pre-positioned supplies to people fleeing the crumbling buildings. One month later, Matthew, his team and the more than 3,000 local Haitian Red Cross Society volunteers continue to be a critical part of the response. They have intimate knowledge of Haiti and the trust of its people because of the Red Cross’ permanent role in the community. "It is clear that what took minutes to destroy will take many years and the collective support from governments and relief agencies across the globe to help rebuild. Because of extraordinary support from the American public, we will continue to play an important role in the relief efforts in the months ahead." “The needs are great, but the generous support of the American people is making a difference every day,” said American Red Cross President and CEO Gail McGovern. Coleman said the ‘Cuse Cares Telethon is the first step in an effort to re-connect former Syracuse student-athletes with the University and the Syracuse community. “Our years at Syracuse were the best times of our lives,” Coleman said. “The friendships I developed in school are some of the strongest I have now. My college friends are still my best friends. This ‘Cuse Cares Telethon is the start of our re-connecting. We want to show people we are serious about building that connection. We welcome everybody, not just basketball. We want to get together and use all of our resources to help the University, the community.”