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G League Rio Grande Valley Vipers

BMP Radio joins Vipers, Food Bank RGV and Walgreens in "Hoops Against Hunger"

February 22, 2009 - NBA G League (G League)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers News Release


MCALLEN, TEXAS - The NBA D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Food Bank RGV and Walgreens announced today that Border Media Properties radio stations News Talk Radio 710 KURV and ESPN 1240 AM are joining them in the drive to collect of one ton of food for the "Hoops Against Hunger" Food Drive.

ESPN 1240 has been the home of every Vipers broadcast in team history and is also the home of the Coach Clay Moser show every Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

"We have always had a great relationship with the Vipers and we are proud to be a part of this great commitment to the community. This is a great cause and I hope we are able to help bounce out hunger in the Rio Grande Valley by surpassing the collection goal for the Food Bank RGV." KURV Program Director Bruce Collins said.

"We are thrilled to have BMP Radio aboard in the battle against hunger in the Rio Grande Valley. We can never have enough help in such a worthy venture." Vipers President and General Manager Brian Michael Cooper said.

The Vipers collected 510 pounds of food during their last three games, putting them on pace to collect 1,700 pounds of food by the last regular season game on April 11th. That figure does not include the generous donations being collected at the 17 Walgreens locations around the Rio Grande Valley that are participating in the food drive.

"The fact that we have a good chance at surpassing our goal really says a lot about the wonderful and caring fans that the Vipers have. Together, we can help to bounce out hunger in the Rio Grande Valley." Cooper said.

Whether the food is donated at Dodge Arena before any of the remaining seven Vipers home games, or at Walgreens, fans can receive one free ticket for every donation of four non-perishable food items for the remainder of the season.

One out of every five children go to bed hungry in the United States. That number jumps to one in four in Texas and 50% in the Rio Grande Valley.

"The harsh stark reality is that if we feed every single hungry person in the valley today, they will be hungry again tomorrow. Hunger doesn't only occur during the holiday giving season. People need food year round," Food and Fund Drive Manager Carter Robinson said.

The Food Bank RGV distributes 69,000 meals per week, with two-thirds of those going to children.

After Hurricane Dolly hit, the Food Bank RGV distributed over one million pounds (500 tons) of food and water.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are a professional basketball team in the NBA Development League (NBA D-League). The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA's official minor league and features 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA teams. The league has produced 15 percent of the players on 2007-08 end-of-season NBA rosters and continues to develop current NBA coaches and referees. In fostering the league's connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote youth basketball, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA D-League Cares programs. The NBA D-League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA. Throughout this season fans can watch all NBA D-League games on NBA Futurecast, the free live Web-streaming initiative found at nba.com/futurecast. The Vipers NBA affiliates are the Houston Rockets, and the New Orleans Hornets.

Check out the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Statistics



NBA G League Stories from February 22, 2009


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