Las Vegas Ballpark hosts drive-up food drive for Three Square

The Las Vegas Ballpark, the home of the Aviators, hosted a food drive Wednesday to benefit Three Square food bank.

Guests were encouraged to drive up and safely drop off nonperishable donations. Aviators mascots Spruce the Goose and Aviator greeted donors with socially distanced high-fives, air hugs and other safe signs of appreciation.

Bark-Andre Furry and Deke-Henri Furry, Las Vegas celebrity dogs named after Vegas Golden Knights players, came by with their owner, Rick Williams, who dropped off a box of canned soup, beans and pasta.

“We’ve done work with Three Square before, and they’re a fantastic organization in town,” Williams said. “I happened to see Spruce’s post on social media and we had missed the opportunity over City National (Arena) last week, so we figured we’d come by.”

More than three pickup truck beds were loaded with the donations by the end of the two-hour food drive.

“One of the things we really wanted to do is get involved with the community in any way possible to continue to give back,” said Gary Arlitz, director of game entertainment at the ballpark.

This was the first food drive at the Las Vegas Ballpark and was held in collaboration with DaVita Dialysis, which holds annual food drives at its clinics. The idea sprouted when Regan Jones, a divisional coordinator at DaVita Dialysis who is also a seasonal stage manager at the ballpark, suggested using the Aviators’ platform and mascots to get donations for Three Square.

“We wanted something to fill our cup, and this is amazing,” Jones said, pointing at the table with piled donations. “It humbles you how generous people can be.”

For more information or to donate, visit threesquare.org.

Contact Jannelle Calderon at jcalderon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @NewsyJan on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Al Mancini contributed to this report.