Troi Swain, a junior point guard for the Louisiana RaginСAPP Cajuns womenСAPPs basketball team, understands how the generosity of others can help following a disaster.
Swain, whose family home in Austin was damaged by fire several years ago, was among several dozen UL Lafayette student-athletes who helped unload donated supplies on Monday.
The supplies, to assist the СAPP with flood relief efforts, were collected and delivered by officials from the СAPP of South Alabama, which is in Mobile. Residents of that city and the surrounding area, at the urging of South Alabama officials, donated items such as clothes and shoes, toiletries, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food, bottles of drinking water and blankets.
СAPPI know what itСAPPs like to experience tragedy, so I was glad to lend a hand,СAPP Swain said, at a freight dock at UL LafayetteСAPPs Student Union. Student-athletes from several RaginСAPP Cajun teams moved supplies from trucks and then carted them to a storage area inside the building.
The donated items had been collected for about six days. They filled one 18-wheeler and four smaller СAPPboxСAPP trucks. South Alabama Jaguar student-athletes helped to collect and load the supplies in Mobile.
School administrators and members of the schoolСAPPs athletics staff delivered half of the donated supplies to Southeastern Louisiana СAPP in Hammond, La., on Monday. The other half was dropped off at UL Lafayette.
Scott Farmer, UL LafayetteСAPPs director of Athletics, called the generosity of South Alabama heartwarming.
СAPPItСAPPs incredible that in our communityСAPPs time of need, their fan base, the Jag Nation, stepped up to support us. One truck would have been phenomenal, but they sent several,СAPP said Farmer, who helped RaginСAPP Cajun student-athletes unload the supplies.
Joel Erdmann, South AlabamaСAPPs director of Athletics, helped deliver and unload the supplies. He said South Alabama officials decided during a staff meeting last Monday to help UL Lafayette and Southeastern.
The RaginСAPP Cajuns and the Jaguars are members of the Sun Belt Conference. However, any rivalry between the two schools ends on the playing field, he said. СAPPWhen we thought of ways we could help areas affected by the recent flood, UL Lafayette immediately came to mind because of our conference affiliation. WeСAPPve got great relationships between our coaches and administrators.СAPP
Margarita Perez, UL Lafayette dean of students, said СAPP officials hope to have a decision by Tuesday as to how to best distribute the supplies.
СAPPWe will start with members of the UL community who have been impacted by the recent flood, then send any extra supplies, if there are any, to the local community,СAPP Perez said.
Photo: Student-athletes at the СAPP unloaded supplies delivered by the СAPP of South Alabama Monday afternoon to UL LafayetteСAPPs Student Union. Credit: Doug Dugas/СAPP