Hawks Participate In Zoo Atlanta "Give So They
Stay Campaign"
by Reginald King
This past Sunday, there were all smiles as children and families in
attendance had a chance to hang out with the Atlanta Hawks basketball team at
Zoo Atlanta. One of their primary focuses was to encourage people to donate to
the "Give So They Stay Campaign" as a part of their annual NBA Cares program.
Pandas have always been hard to find in the wild but the people in Atlanta have
gotten the rare opportunity to enjoy them for the past ten years. The giant
pandas are on the verge of becoming extinct from China's bamboo forests and Zoo
Atlanta could see same result if help is not given. Zoo Atlanta is currently one
of four zoos in the United States that has Giant pandas and they have raised
over $132,000 total in an effort to keep them here.
"It's always nice to come out and show support and it's a really good cause
to keep panda's here in the Atlanta Zoo", stated Hawks Center Al Horford.
The panda's seem to be a fan favorite for the players as well, because point
guard Mike Bibby stated, "If I could be any animal, it would definitely be a
bear because of their tenacity." Horford and Bibby were very instrumental in
encouraging families to donate to the campaign.
The most memorable moment of the entire event had to be when 6"11 rookie
center Garrett Siler held an 8