NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana Athletics — student-athletes from multiple sports, along with coaches, managers and family members — assisted with cleanup Saturday following a tornado in New Orleans East four days earlier.
XULA Director of Tennis Alan Green said the group volunteered for approximately three hours.
“I really wanted to do this today because the tornado hit the exact location of where I grew up,” Green said. “The tornado hit my elementary school and displaced the students for the rest of the school year. I took the crew I was with to my childhood home. The people living there now have no power, but everyone is OK.
“I only wish we could have stayed longer. The people were so nice and grateful. The first chance I get, I’m going back to help someone, anyone.”
The National Weather Service said New Orleans East was hit Tuesday by an EF-3 tornado with minimum wind speeds of 136 miles per hour. The tornado is the most powerful to hit Orleans Parish since record-keeping started in 1950.
It’s the second time this school year that XULA Athletics assisted after a natural disaster. Department representatives, including student-athletes, traveled to Baton Rouge, La., in August to help with cleanup following record flooding.
XULA teams compete in the NAIA and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
Courtesy: XULA Athletics
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