WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that the WNBA, WNBPA and draft presenting partner State Farm will "donate $240,000 to Direct Relief -- $20,000 for each of the 12 first-round picks -- to help get protective gear and medication to health-care workers as quickly as possible" (ESPN.com, 4/17).
COACHES' CORNER: Three MLB assistant coaches -- the Yankees' Tanner Swanson and Twins' Billy Boyer and Donegal Fergus -- are behind the Coaches vs. COVID campaign, which has "now raised more than $11,000 for charity." Swanson, formerly with the Twins, came up with the idea to "hold Q&A presentations on Zoom for other coaches." The sessions would be free, though a "donation to the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s COVID-19 prevention and treatment research was recommended." The trio then "tapped into other coaches in their network from the Northwest," and now have "near a dozen coaches participating." The Zoom calls have been "attracting between 100 to 200 viewers" each (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 4/19).
HOUSTON HELPS: Astros 3B Alex Bregman’s FEEDHOU fundraising campaign last Friday reached its $1M goal, doing so just "seven days after its launch" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/18). Astros P Justin Verlander and wife Kate Upton "announced donations and partnerships with various organizations" in Detroit. Gifts include 25,000 masks to the Detroit Police Department, face shields for "every police officer, paramedic and fire fighter in Detroit" and "donations to Feed the Frontlines Detroit" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/18).
CAROLINA CARES: Hurricanes President & GM Don Waddell and his wife, Cheryl, are "buying approximately 500 lunches for sanitation workers in Raleigh, Durham and Cary" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 4/18)....Former Duke basketball manager Kevin Marchetti announced that his food supply company, Lineage, was partnering with coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke to "donate $225,000 to the Foodbank of Central and Eastern North Carolina" (RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER 4/18).
FOOTBALL DONATIONS: Bills QB Matt Barkley and his wife, Brittany, "donated $10,000 to the Hope House, the women and children’s homeless shelter that is run through the Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Services Center of Western New York" (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/18)....Bills DE Jerry Hughes and his wife, Meghan, will make a "donation of $50,000 to the Western New York Covid-19 Community Response Fund," in addition to "partnering with the Grange Community Kitchen in Hamburg next week" to provide 1,000 meals to first responders and health care workers (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/18)....Saints coach Sean Payton on Friday "made a $100,000 donation to Second Harvest Food Bank" (NOLA.com, 4/17).
BASKETBALL AID: The Grizzlies created the Memphis Grizzlies Community Assistance Fund to "help assist Memphis as the coronavirus pandemic continues" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 4/18).....Cavaliers C Andre Drummond is "donating $100,000 to Middlesex Health" in his hometown of Middletown, Conn., in order to help the hospital "acquire needed supplies and equipment" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/18).
