Miami Heat Donates $1M To Haiyan Victims (See Video)
NBA Champion Miami Heat, along with Carnival Corporation & plc, has committed to donate at least $1 million to support relief efforts in communities severely affected by super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Philippines. The donation was announced Tuesday, Nov. 12 to help victims get back on their feet and start rebuilding their lives again.
Micky Arison, Miami Heat's owner, is also the man behind Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company. Together with Miami Heat's Coach Erik Spoelstra, a Filipino-American, the donation was made possible through their joint efforts.
Based on an interview posted in Fox News, Spoelstra is extending her condolences to the Philippines and promises to extend any help he can give to the typhoon victims.
"We would like to extend our condolences to the victims in the Philippines, an area I hold close to my heart and have visited four times in the last five years," Spoelstra said. "It is vitally important that we do everything possible to help those impacted by this tragedy. My thanks and appreciation to Carnival, Micky Arison and the entire Miami Heat organization. We value the many fans that we have over there, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers."
According to Arison, each of Carnival Corporation & plc's brand will continue to find ways in supporting ongoing relief efforts. At the moment, they are in the process of finding worthy local fundraising projects and other initiatives so they can step in and help.
"In addition to providing financial support for relief efforts, our collective thoughts and prayers are with all of those who have been impacted," Arison said.
Together with Miami Heat, the National Basketball Association and National Basketball Players Association also donated $250,000 to UNICEF and $250,000 to World Vision.
Known as one of the strongest typhoon ever recorded, Haiyan ripped through the middle of the archipelago on Nov. 8 and the scale of the damage left in its wake was undescribable. Philippine Pres. Benigno Aquino declared the Haiyan's wrath a "national calamity."