By John RittenhouseOn a day they could have been concentrating on themselves, members of Adrian’s cross country program were thinking of others.It was the morning of Saturday, Oct. 29, exactly one week before the Dragons made school history by sending both teams to the Minnesota State Cross Country Championships in Northfield.Considering the way they went about their business that morning, running at St. Olaf College didn’t seem to enter their minds. Instead, the Dragons were doing their part to help victims of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast region at the home of Adrian resident Kay Cox.Cox is affiliated with a group named Justice For All, a religious organization that helps others in need.When Cox put the call out for people to donate clothes and coats from the neighboring communities of Ellsworth, Rushmore, Lismore, Magnolia and Adrian, the response was overwhelming."I just left my garage door open, and the people just dropped off their donations in these bags and boxes," Cox said as she surveyed her carport that was cluttered with charity on that October morning."The response has been just phenomenal. I couldn’t even open this door (a door that connected her house to the garage) any more."Cox wouldn’t give an estimation when it came to guessing how many pounds of clothing she had tucked away in her garage.She did know that there were going to be too many bags and boxes for her and the driver of the truck from Rock Valley, Iowa, where Justice For All is based, to load by themselves.That’s where the AHS cross country members enter the picture."Kay gave me a call one night and asked if we would help," recalled Dragon head coach Doug Petersen."I told her we would, because we were going to have our last Saturday morning breakfast run that day anyway."So, instead of using their leg muscles that morning, the Dragons used their hands and arms to load box after box onto a truck that Cox knew would be going to people in the states of Alabama and Louisiana."I’ve been collecting coats for Justice For All for years, and they distribute them to areas that have experienced natural disasters all over the United States," Cox said."You remember when the Fargo-Moorhead area had their big flood a few years ago? We sent some relief items there, too. We’re not doing it for ourselves. We do it for the poor and disadvantaged."Knowing that the end product of their work will help others in the Gulf Coast makes Cox proud to be associated with the Adrian cross country program."They are such a family-oriented team. I make one phone call, and they offered to do it," Cox concluded.
