Shaquille "Shaq" O’Neal toured Lafayette High School’s newly renovated weight room on Friday; you’ll recall in May, he made a $20,000 donation to renovate the school.
Lafayette High’s head football coach, Rob Poole, approached the Lafayette Parish School System and requested funding to renovate the weight room. LPSS agreed to grant $21,000 for the renovations.
So in January, Poole registered to participate in South Louisiana Giving Day, an event of Community Foundation of Acadiana. Through his fundraising efforts, Poole received a message from Shaq saying he would donate $20,000. O’Neal’s contribution, along with other donors, helped Poole fully fund his project. The cost of the project was $42,000.
"It shows what kind of guy he is," said Poole. "He’s selfless, and he’s about kids. They are the ones who’s going to benefit."
South Louisiana Giving Day is a 24-hour online, fundraising event for nonprofit organizations. The goal is to inspire the community to come together for a 24-hour period to contribute as many charitable dollars as possible to support the work of local nonprofit organizations, churches and schools. Learn more at www.SOLAGivingDay.org.
