JustServe Featured during Mormon Night with the San Diego Padres
Contributed By Doyle Tedrow, Church News contributor
Left: Rebecca Bennion of the North America West JustServe Council presents the 2016 JustServe Partnership Award to Casey Castillo, San Diego Food Bank's vice president. Right: Clark Hendrickson, an LDS stake president, throws the ceremonial first pitch for Mormon Night with the Padres.
Article Highlights
- This spring, thousands of volunteers participated in the San Diego food drive.
- Stake President Clark Hendrickson, director of the food drive, threw the game's first pitch.
- Alex Boyé sang the national anthem to open the game.
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JustServe partners lined the first and third base lines in the Mormon Night with the Padres pregame ceremony, Saturday, July 16, as the baseball organization recognized JustServe and those who have partnered with the initiative in communities throughout the San Diego region.
Rebecca Bennion of the North America West JustServe Council presented the annual JustServe Partnership Award to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. Casey Castillo, vice president, finance and administration, joined her on the field to accept the award on behalf of the food bank. The food bank was recognized for its ongoing commitment to the region to meet the needs of the hungry.
In the spring of this year, thousands of volunteers participated in a community-wide food drive benefiting the San Diego Food Bank. Over 500 units from the Boy Scouts of America, 31 LDS congregations, nine local businesses, and members of a local Kiwanis Club gathered nearly 85,000 pounds of food by the culminating JustServe Day of Community Service in April. This converts to 70,594 meals to feed the poor and needy families in San Diego County. As a part of this food drive the San Diego Food Bank received a $25,000 grant from the Church’s humanitarian aid fund, allowing the food bank to purchase 227,000 pounds of much-needed produce.
The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by San Diego California East Stake President Clark Hendrickson. The massive food drive was organized under his direction by Robin Gephart, the stake’s director of public affairs, and other members of the stake’s JustServe committees in the region.
Guests, who watched the game against the San Francisco Giants in a suite provided by the Padres, included Alex Boyé, who performed the national anthem prior to the game.
JustServe partnership Crystal Baseball. Photo by Samantha Zauscher.
Alex Boyé traveled to San Diego to perform the national anthem. Photo by Samantha Zauscher.
Boy Scout Troop 695 presented the colors prior to the national anthem. Photo by Samantha Zauscher.
Alex Boyé went up into the upper deck to visit with Church members. He and a group of youth sang and danced in the Padres karaoke game together. Photo by Samantha Zauscher.
