SpaceRaider
All American
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Joined: May 2002
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I Root For: MiddleTennessee
Location: God's Country
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MT Coach sees a need, does a good deed
Quote:Golf coach provides warmth to kids
On his drive to work in single-digit degree temperature Friday morning, Middle Tennessee State men's golf coach Whit Turnbow spotted a young boy without a coat waiting for a school bus.
The disturbing image was still eating at Turnbow by the time he got to Murphy Center. So before getting out of his car, he turned to social media with hopes of making a difference.
"It was hard for me to believe that if that little boy owned a coat he wouldn't have it on, so he obviously doesn't have one," Turnbow said. "I was sitting in the parking lot, and before I went in, I tweeted that if anyone knew of a kid who doesn't have a coat to let me know and I would make sure that they got a new one."
By the time Turnbow walked into his office, his Twitter account was blowing up. He received 35 requests for coats within minutes of sending his tweet.
"I mainly had teachers saying things like, 'I've got three students in my class who came in with no coat on today,' 'I've got six in my class with no coats,' 'I've got four in my class who came in only wearing long sleeve shirts,' '' Turnbow said. "They went around their schools and figured out how many in each class needed coats and what the sizes were."
Turnbow also updated his Facebook status with a similar offer to provide coats for kids in need.
At that point, he started getting offers from friends willing to help by providing cash for new coats or donating coats they no longer used.
Turnbow got a couple of student workers to go with him and one of the golf program's top donors to Walmart, where they bought every coat on the rack.
They went to another Walmart to get more coats as well as hats and gloves.
Turnbow then delivered the items to Rock Spring Middle School in Smyrna and Bradley Academy in Murfreesboro.
"It was a heck of a day," Turnbow said. "I really didn't expect what happened to happen. I thought maybe if I could buy one person a coat or maybe two that would be good. I just wanted to make somebody's day or keep some kid from freezing. It was an eye-opener to see how great the need is."
Turnbow is still accepting requests for coats along with donations. Anyone interested should call golf secretary Cathy Huehls at 615-898-2452.
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01-26-2014 10:44 AM |
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Matrix
Hall of Famer
Posts: 14,505
Joined: Oct 2009
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I Root For: UAB, N'Western
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RE: MT Coach sees a need, does a good deed
Bless you, Coach Turnbow...#ConferenceUSACares
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01-27-2014 12:22 AM |
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