El Paso

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The El Paso Division honors Basketball Hall of Fame member Coach Nolan Richardson for using athletics as a venue for social change and turning a personal tragedy into an inspiration to help others.

Coach Richardson has coached for almost half a century at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. The loss of his daughter and his efforts to help others like her have made him a hero off the court as well. In 1987, 15-year-old Yvonne Richardson died following a two-year battle with leukemia. In her honor, the family established the Yvonne Richardson Memorial Foundation, which has raised nearly $3 million to help terminally ill children and their families who may need housing assistance while undergoing essential treatment far from home.

For 27 years the Nolan Richardson Charity Golf Tournament has hosted international celebrities and media personalities at the University of El Paso to raise money for not only the Yvonne Richardson Memorial Foundation, but also for charities in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House. The foundation also built the Yvonne Richardson Community Center in Fayettville, Arkansas in 1996 to provide a safe environment for children and families to learn and congregate.