Charlotte Cares

Sports fans lined up to meet their favorite Hornets, Panthers and Sting players on September 25 in three uptown locations and at Concord Mills in a fundraising effort for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and helped the professional sports teams, along with NASCAR driver John Andretti, raise $56,600.25 in a two-hour time frame.

Players and coaches from Charlotte's NBA, NFL and WNBA teams were positioned in First Union's Atrium, Bank of America's Founder's Hall, at Duke Energy, and at the food court at Concord Mills from 11:00 a..m. - 1:00 p.m. to autograph commemorative "Charlotte Cares" T-shirts in exchange for a contribution to the Red Cross. The shirts bear the logos of the three teams and the American Red Cross. Much to the delight of racing fans, John Andretti was a surprise and much welcome addition to the group at the Atrium.

Duke Energy partnered with the sports teams by matching the contributions of Duke employees. To date, Duke Energy employees have raised $500,000, which when matched by Duke, tops the $1 million dollar mark the power company has raised for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Participating Hornets players were: David Wesley, Baron Davis, P.J. Brown, Elden Campbell Lee Nalion, Matt Bullard and Kirk Haston, as well as Head Coach Paul Silas and Assistant Coaches Brian Hill, Bob Donewald and Stephen Silas.

Participating Panthers players were: Chris Weinke, Wesley Walls, Dan Morgan, Dee Brown, Steve Smith, Jason Peter, Chris Slade, Kevin Donnalley, Hannibal Navies, Lester Towns, Nick Goings, Chris Hetherington and Jarrod Cooper.

Participating Sting players were: Andrea Stinson, Charlotte Smith, Shalonda Enis, and Head Coach Anne Donovan.