Wouldn't it be nice if we saw more of this kind of story
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive September 2005:
Wouldn't it be nice if we saw more of this kind of story
Schillings To Care For New Orleans Family
Pitcher Pays To Fly Family Of 9 To Boston, Provide Housing
POSTED: 6:43 am EDT September 6, 2005
UPDATED: 8:15 am EDT September 6, 2005
BOSTON -- Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and his wife, Shonda, have paid to fly a New Orleans family of nine to Boston and pledged to provide housing for the hurricane-stricken family for one year.
The Fields family, with seven children between the ages of 5 and 12, fled New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina struck. They spent the past week at an Atlanta hotel with the help of a charitable organization.
The Schillings, who have four children 10 and younger, decided to make a personal gesture rather than a simple contribution of money.
"When we realized how many people had nowhere to go, we didn't just want to make a donation," Shonda Schilling told the Boston Globe in Tuesday's editions. "We decided we wanted to bring an entire family here and put them up."
The families connected through a Web site, openyourhome.com, which matches displaced families with people willing to house them. The Schillings registered Friday and on Saturday anonymously arranged for the family to fly to Boston.
"He said 'I would like to help you,"' Efrem Fields, 31, told the Globe in a phone interview from his hotel. "He didn't say who he was."
Fields and his wife, Shelita, 28, and their kids met the Schillings at the hotel. Fields said his new friend looked familiar.
"I said 'Wait a second, I know this guy,"' said Fields, a baseball fan. "Schilling ... Schilling, there's only one Schilling I know, and he's a baseball player. It blew my mind."
The Schillings have pledged to provide housing for one year and plan to help the Fields find schooling for the children. They made the arrangements quietly and discussed it only after contacted by the Globe, the newspaper reported.
"They are beautiful people, God-loving people," said Fields, who worked for a fuel company.
Fields' neighborhood in New Orleans was badly damaged, and he does not expect to salvage his home or belongings.
The Fields family plans to attend its first Major League Baseball game Wednesday when the Red Sox host the Angels.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
That is awesome!!!
That's nice to hear.
I heard about that on the radio this morning!
Late last week I heard that Harrahs, which had casinos on the riverfront in NO and Mississippi, is continuing the salaries and benefits for its employees in the wrecked casinos for 90 days. Wonder how many other employers will do something similar - especially for health benefits?
Wow, what an amazing guy. I knew I loved him for more than just his pitching. ;)
|
Members
