Justin Parker remembers all too well the anxiousness of living through hurricane season on the Lowcountry coast, wondering often whether the tropical system sitting in the Atlantic would be the one that ravaged the South Carolina sea islands.
So when the former Beaufort High and Clemson football star saw people in Louisiana and the Northeast suffering from the impact of Hurricane Ida, he felt compelled to do something to help.
Parker partnered with the Gullah-Geechee Initiative Foundation to raise funds for Hurricane Ida relief — and everyone who donates will have a chance to win one of his No. 8 Clemson jerseys.
Donors receive 10 entries in the drawing for a $10 donation, 30 entries for $25, 75 for $50, or 200 for $100. The raffle closes at 5 p.m. Wednesday with the drawing at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Parker was one of the top linebacker recruits in the state as a senior at Beaufort High in 2009, choosing the Tigers over South Carolina and LSU in a highly-anticipated ceremony on National Signing Day.
He played in nine games for the Tigers in 2010, making seven tackles, and collected eight tackles over 14 games in limited action as a sophomore. The Lowco native took a redshirt year in 2012 while recovering from groin surgery and was expected to earn more playing time as a junior before announcing in March 2013 he would end his playing career due to a painful chronic knee injury.
Parker stayed on as a student assistant while completing his degree before returning home to the Lowcountry to coach at Whale Branch and Beaufort High. Parker has since returned to Clemson as a marketing and communications manager.
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