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Dodger fans are very charitable. After having raised in excess of $61,000 for beating victim Brian Stow in early April, the fans came together again and raised another $10,000 for victims of the tornadoes that struck the South on April 27, 2011.
Relief pitcher Lance Cormier who resides in Tuscaloosa, Ala. during the offseason enlisted his fellow players to help raise money for the hard-hit region.
“It was within a mile-and-a-half of my house,” Cormier said. “A big part of our main intersection in town is totally wiped out.”
Beyond helping raise money, Cormier is also sheltering friends whose houses were destroyed.
“We’re out here for six months, so we have an empty house,” Cormier explained. “So we offered up our house.”
During the Sunday and Tuesday games of the prior homestand, players had 45-minute autograph sessions in Autograph Alley behind centerfield for a suggested donation of $5. On the Wednesday session were present Cormier, Tony Gwynn, Jr., Jonathan Broxton, Matt Guerrier, Clayton Kershaw, Blake Hawksworth and Jon Garland. While all of the players had nice printed name tags on the table in front of them, Garland’s tag was hastily written out.
“Actually it was [last minute],” Garland admitted. “Lance asked me if I could come out and join him in supporting this. For me anything I can do for a teammate if they’re supporting something that I believe in, I’m always up for helping out.”
The Sunday autograph session raised $2,669.42 and the Tuesday session raised $2,570.20 alone.
In addition to the sessions, the Salvation Army set up booths throughout the Stadium to collect money or school supplies.