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Doster Fund Successful In Effort to Aid Family With Costs 7/26/2005 Also Announces Scholarship for Tampa-area Students An effort created months ago to pay all costs incurred by the family of Vanderbilt running back Kwane Doster following his tragic death last December has succeeded in its goal. In a recent letter mailed to contributors of the effort, organizers also announced the creation of a Kwane Doster Memorial Scholarship Fund will be established by the Ybor City Rotary Club near Tampa with $7,000 remaining from the effort. Doster was slain on Dec. 26, 2004, in the Ybor City community, the victim of a shotgun wound while sitting in the backseat of a car. While most of Doster’s teammates traveled from Nashville for the funeral in his hometown, several hundred Vanderbilt students attended a memorial service on campus after classes resumed following holiday break. At the time of the shooting, the 2002 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year was the Commodores’ probable starter at tailback for the upcoming season. More importantly, he was on target to please his mother, Kelly Doster, by earning an undergraduate degree in Human and Organizational Development next May. The Tampa community also has paid tribute to Kwane and his family. In June, elected Tampa officials renamed a community center in Port Tampa for Doster as recognition of his personal achievements at a young age. The memorial fund was created by the parents of three of Doster’s classmates and teammates: Rod and Dinah Freeman of Brentwood, Tenn., parents of former defensive end Richard Freeman; Rick and Debbie Joyce of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., parents of linebacker Kevin Joyce; and Tom and Rickia Bright of Greer, S.C., parents of quarterback Steven Bright. The fund raised sufficient cash to pay emergency care, hospitalization and funeral costs, according to the letter. Due to NCAA and SEC rules, the fund creators looked to provide seed money for the Kwane Doster Memorial Scholarship Fund after learning that any money left unspent could not go directly or indirectly to Doster’s relatives. The organizers found a willing partner in the Ybor City Rotary Club, which plans to award post-secondary education scholarships to one or more deserving students in the Tampa area, based on scholarship, leadership, athleticism, community awareness and need. “The intent is to set up a scholarship that would live on in perpetuity in honor of Kwane and provide opportunity and encouragement” to Tampa-area youth seeking higher education, the letter continued. |
