VENICE, La. (AP) - Two days before he was to open training camp,
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton stood in the hot south
Louisiana sun hoisting boxes of food and personal supplies into a
steady stream of vehicles slowly pulling past him.
For a man who has heard more than his share of cheers since
leading the Saints to the Super Bowl championship, Payton was
hearing a different kind of appreciation on Tuesday.
"I thought he was a wonderful coach before, now I think he is a
wonderful man," said Catherine Reels, 55. "I think the world of
him helping like this."
Payton, through his Play it Forward Foundation, teamed up with
Feed the Children to help 2,800 families affected by the BP oil
spill.
Payton and fellow Saints coaches, as well as country music
artist Sammy Kershaw, were busy handing out 25-pound packages of
food, 10 pound boxes of personal care items such as paper towels,
toilet paper and personal grooming needs, bottled water and bags of
fresh fruit.
"After two or three months, it's easy for people to like
they've slipped through the cracks," Payton said. "The real thing
we're about today is hope. Letting people know they are not
forgotten."
The food distribution was the first of eight planneda Tuesday
and Wednesday.
"As we always do, we had local organizations identify the
people who needed the food," said Tony Sellars, of Feed the
Children. "We have 400 families scheduled to pick up from this
location."
The food was clearly appreciated.
Ronnie Grow, 42, who cleans offices for a living, was working
five days a week before the spill. Now she only works three. Two of
the companies that used her services have gone out of business
because of the spill, she said.
"They aren't coming back and no one new is opening up," said
Grow. "Things are getting very tight. I'm already late with my
truck payment, but what can you do?"
Payton said the most important thing is for people not to lose
hope as the days drag out and the oil sloshes ashore.
"There are limits for all of us," Payton said. "Clearly these
are resilient people, but today is really just to help them avoid
reaching that limit."
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