For the 19th straight year, the Pacers and Fever welcomed over 700 men, women, and children from Central Indiana shelters to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday evening for the "Come to Our House" Thanksgiving Dinner presented by US Foods and hosted by Rodney & Heidi Stuckey.
All of the guests were served a warm, traditional holiday meal by Pacers players, coaches, and executives. Guests also had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities including: IU Health flu shots, photo booths, a balloon artist, a face painter and more. Levy Restaurants prepared the meal and all leftover food will be donated to Second Helpings. Guests received a Holiday Pack when leaving which includes a Pacers hat, Fever scarf, gloves; Finish Line socks, McDonald's coupons and a variety of other cold-weather items.
"It's always a blessing to give back," Stuckey said. "I'm fortunate enough, blessed enough to play in the NBA, so this is just (an opportunity) to give back to people in need and put a smile on people's face."
PHOTO GALLERY: 19th Annual "Come to Our House" Thanksgiving Dinner »
In addition to the Pacers and US Foods, other sponsors included Indiana Fever President and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf, Fever legend Tamika Catchings, and Fever players Marissa Coleman and Briann January.
The annual event is part of the larger NBA Cares "Season of Giving" and the Pacers and their "Pacers Cares" program have been out in the community in force in an effort to brighten the holidays for children and families of Central Indiana. This week alone, a number of players and coaches visited local children's hospitals, center Myles Turner handed out free lunch and care kits to those in need as part of his WARM initiative, and guard Monta Ellis hosted a turkey giveaway through his ME8 Foundation.
"We take this month of Thanksgiving to give," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "And it's something that we try to do all year long — we should do all year long. Certainly when you see moms and families — there's a lot of people that are in need — it's something that we should always do.