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Cougars to lend a helping hand

Last season, the Cougar football team kept fans smiling by racking up numerous victories on the playing field. In keeping with that tradition, members of the football team and other UH athletes hope to produce a few more smiles by helping out those less fortunate.

Several Cougar athletes, coaches and personnel within the athletics department will team up with the Star of Hope Mission to serve food to homeless women and children at noon Friday at the tailgating pavilions at Robertson Stadium. The event will feature inflatable toys and face-painting for children and performances by the UH band, cheerleaders and Cougar Dolls.

UH football head coach Art Briles and Director of Athletics Dave Maggard will be on hand at the event, which will serve as the starting point of a partnership between the UH Athletics Department and the Star of Hope Mission during the 2007 football season. The partnership adds another unique feature to the athletic department’s community outreach program.

Maggard, who was first approached several weeks ago by Star of Hope Mission officials with the partnership proposition, said he believes Friday’s event will greatly benefit all parties involved.

"It really is an effort to get (Star of Hope Mission residents) over (to campus) in an informal setting, have our athletes serve them, and have a little program," Maggard, who will open the program with a few comments, said. "It’s an attempt to lend a hand, so to speak, to some of the people who are less fortunate, and I think it’s a good thing for our athletes to be involved with. It’s a good thing for the University, the (athletics) department and the community."

Friday’s event was spurred on by a substantial donation of food from noted philanthropists June and Virgil Waggoner, and highlights the charity work of the Star of Hope Mission, which has lent a helping hand to Houston’s homeless since 1907.

"That’s a great deal for us as human beings to help some people that have been through some hard times and are less fortunate," Briles said. "It’s another great avenue for (our) student athletes and me, as a coach, to help people understand that there’s more to what we do than (to) just run out on the field, swing a baseball bat, put on a pair of track spikes, or whatever."

Maggard speculates that between 50 and 60 athletes will volunteer at Friday’s event.

"The athletes want to do it," Maggard said. "We asked for a sign-up, and a number of athletes said (they) would be happy to do it."

As part of the partnership, Cougar fans will be encouraged to drop off canned and non-perishable food items to Robertson Stadium on game days this season. The collected food will be presented to Star of Hope Mission at a ceremony during the Cougars’ homecoming game against Marshall on Nov. 17.

Recently, officials with Administaff, a Houston-based company that sponsors the Athletics Department and the Star of Hope Mission, and Smart Financial Credit Union consented to join the partnership as title sponsors.

In addition, Maggard said the Athletics Department would continue striving to get other residents of the community involved in its efforts to reach out to those less fortunate. He also hopes that he can arrange for some of the latter to be able to attend Cougar football games in the fall for free.

Briles also sees potential in the partnershi and said he is honored to be a part of Friday’s occasion.

"It’s going to be a great event, and at the end of everything, as long as everybody leaves with a smile on their face, it’s been a good afternoon," Briles said. "We’re thankful to be a part of it, and even more thankful to be on the giving side."

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