— Fever Players Past & Present Join Annual Event During Season of Giving
INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday was a very special day at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. For the 20th consecutive year, Pacers Sports & Entertainment hosted the annual “Come to Our House” Thanksgiving Dinner presented by US Foods, welcoming over 1,000 men, women and children from Central Indiana shelters to The Fieldhouse Entry Pavilion for a warm, traditional holiday meal.
Pacers forwards Al Jefferson and Thad Young, along with Pacers Sports & Entertainment and the Pacers Foundation served as hosts of this year’s dinner.
The entire 2017-18 Pacers team, along with members of the coaching staff, front office, and alumni, as well as Indiana Fever guard Shenise Johnson and alums Tamika Catchings and Tully Bevilaqua were on hand to help serve favorite dishes, including turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
“I’ve been very blessed and usually when people are very blessed, they bless others,” Young said about the event. “That’s one of the things I’ve always set out to do.”
“When they brought it to me, I jumped on it,” Jefferson added. “It’s always fun giving back and putting a smile on people’s faces.”
US Foods and its vendor partners donated the food, while Levy Restaurants prepared the meal and will donate all left-over food to Second Helpings.
Other special servers included Pacers and Fever team broadcasters and local media members.
In addition to the food, the guests had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, including photo booths, a Balloon Artist, a Face Painter, and a Caricaturist and more. At the end of the evening, all guests received a Pacers Holiday Pack which included a Pacers hat, Indiana Fever scarf; gloves; Finish Line socks, and a variety of other cold-weather items and gifts.
“It’s probably the best day of the year,” Pacers Sports & Entertainment President and COO Rick Fuson said. “To think about the fact that we can maybe give some help to people that are less fortunate about us, to bring them out of the cold…I don’t feel better about anything we do.”