On Thursday, January 22, Mayor Ed Rendell will join Rasheed Wallace and the Portland Trail Blazers for the first annual coat drive sponsored by the Rasheed A. Wallace Foundation.  The drive will take place at the northeast entrance of City Hall from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.  All coats collected from the drive will be donated to the Philadelphia Cares Foundation and other area homeless shelters for distribution to Philadelphia's homeless community.  All contributors will receive balloons, autographed pictures of Wallace and 1998 all-star ballots. 

Founded in early 1997, the Rasheed A. Wallace Foundation was established to contribute to the needs of the less fortunate in the Philadelphia area.  The foundation's Executive Director, Tennis Young is excited about the plans for 1998.  "This is only the beginning of a very exciting future for the Rasheed A. Wallace Foundation," he said, "and we are planning a series of special events and fund raisers that will benefit youth and the less fortunate in Philadelphia." 

Rasheed's focus on youth and giving back to the city where his talents were developed is strong and his interest in doing so is evident in the creation of his Philadelphia-based foundation.  "It's nice to be able to go back to your hometown after you have made it, and give back to the needy," said Wallace. 

Wallace, who plays center and forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, is a Philadelphia native who joined the NBA after his sophomore year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  This season marks Rasheed's third year in the NBA and in 1998 a possible showing at the NBA all-star game in New York.