‘We’ll do anything we can do.’ How the Kentucky football team is supporting flood relief.
Kentucky football players got a second workout in Friday, three days into preseason practice, but this one won’t help much on the field.
Instead, UK players and coaches gathered in Madison County to help Father Jim Sichko pack the more than 10,000 boxes delivered to his home from an Amazon wish list set up for Eastern Kentucky flood victims.
“These guys worked around the clock right now, but they’re glad to give up several hours to help,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said, noting players had already completed their scheduled practice Friday morning. “We’ll do anything we can do.”
Since Sichko posted the link to the Amazon wish list on social media over the weekend, donations have poured into his home. He reported 10,000 packages had arrived by Friday morning with an additional 500 arriving during the day.
Included in the packages were a variety of toiletries, household items and pet food that are needed by Kentuckians who lost their homes in last week’s floods. Players opened the Amazon boxes, distributed their contents to the correct piles and placed them on two moving trucks scheduled to deliver the goods to Eastern Kentucky.
One truck is headed for Whitesburg. Another to Fleming-Neon.
Sichko, commissioned as a papal missionary of mercy by Pope Francis, plans to visit the Isom IGA destroyed by floods on Monday with cash donations to support efforts to rebuild the grocery store.
To accomplish those goals, Sichko first needed a group physically capable of loading the trucks Wednesday.
“We were looking for something to do as a team to help out,” quarterback Will Levis said. “It’s kind of tough to find a place for all 100 to be a part of, so it was awesome for Father to reach out to us and help move thousands of boxes. We obviously have the build to get it done. Glad we were able to come out and make a difference.”
Kentucky players were to return to football practice Saturday, but their thoughts will continue to be with flood victims when they take the field this season, Levis said.
“I know there’s a bunch of fans in the areas that were affected that truly love us,” Levis said. “I’ve been able to visit a bunch of different parts of the state. Just seeing the energy and the passion a lot of these people have, it’s always exciting seeing and hearing about the love we have as a team.
“We represent the University of Kentucky, but we represent the whole state of Kentucky. We’ve got to make sure we carry ourselves accordingly because of that.”
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