Baseball's richest team has stepped up to the plate to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. On Tuesday night, the Yankees donated $1 million to the Salvation Army to aid the Gulf Coast region ravaged by the huge storm.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner released a statement saying, 'The New York Yankees, in heeding the President's call to help the people devastated by this hurricane in the affected areas, are going to donate $1 million to the relief effort. This is one of America's greatest natural disasters and tragedies, and it is the responsibility of the American public to step up and help those in need.'
In addition to presenting the check, the Yankees had representatives from the Salvation Army outside Yankee Stadium collecting donations from fans able to give. The representatives will be outside the Stadium during this entire Yankees home stand including this weekend's games against the arch-rival Boston Red Sox.
Matt Lawton, the newly acquired Yankees outfielder was personally affected by Katrina. the Gulfport, Mississippi native indicated that his home sustained approximately $200,000 worth of damage in the storm. His parents, however, lost their home altogether. A total of eight members of Lawton's family were displaced by the storm.
'There are so many people there who are going to be in need of some sort of help,' Lawton told the Yankees official Web site. 'Mr. Steinbrenner, I definitely want to thank him for helping. The people are going to be very appreciative.'
