‘A lot of people in need.’ Ex-Cat says COVID-19 relief fund gaining ground.
Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr has made a donation. So have former NBA standouts Steve Nash and Grant Hill.
Former Kentucky basketball star Rex Chapman would like as many people as possible to donate to a charity he launched this week to help provide relief during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, Chapman said that more than 2,500 donations had been made and more than $150,000 raised. He said he was in the process of deciding where to direct the money.
When he introduced the charity on Monday, Chapman said that he hoped the money raised could be dispersed to “any and all non-profits in every state in this country.”
Donations can be made at his Twitter account @RexChapman.
Chapman played for UK in the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. He scored 1,073 points and gained the nickname “King Rex” in that time. He became only the 12th freshman in program history — and the first since World War II — to lead Kentucky in scoring in a season when he averaged 16.0 points in 1986-87. Eight of those freshmen who led UK in scoring have come in John Calipari’s 11 seasons as coach.
In introducing the charity effort, Chapman said struggles he faced earlier in his life motivated him to try to help as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Not long ago, I lived in my car for a little while,” he said in a tweet Monday. “It took a lot of people to get me back on my feet. I’m very grateful (and) very fortunate for all that help.
“Going to be a lot of people affected by COVID-19. A lot of people in need over the next few months.”
Chapman said he got the idea of using his 585,000 Twitter followers to try to raise relief funds.
“People are going to be out of work,” he said. “Going to be hungry. It’s really scary stuff.”
He and longtime friend David Helmers worked to launch the charity effort. It is working with The Rex Chapman Foundation, which combats opioid addiction, and the Bluegrass Community Foundation.
