Idaho Falls Chukars partner with JustServe and others to give back and raise awareness

Members of the Idaho Falls Chukars serving at the soup kitchen Wednesday afternoon. Take a look in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS – JustServe, a national nonprofit connecting people with local service opportunities, is partnering with the Idaho Falls Chukars for a promotional event on July 18.

Susan Stucki, a local specialist for JustServe, and other local representatives will attend an Idaho Falls Chukars game that night to raise awareness of the organization’s mission.

A special guest, whose name has not yet been announced, will give the opening pitch. Thanks to a generous donation from Teton Toyota, 300 tickets are available for local foster families to attend as well. Greater Idaho Falls Transit will help shuttle people to the game.

“We’ll be showcasing the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission, the Idaho Falls Community Food Basket and Champ’s Heart. There may or may not be a couple of prizes from Champ’s Heart at the game that night,” Stucki tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We just want to raise awareness of what’s available in the community with JustServe and build some sort of annual tradition where we can get together and celebrate.”

Stucki is asking those who attend the game that night to bring a box of cereal to donate to the food basket. The following day, there will be a domino extravaganza at its warehouse, where all of the boxes will be lined up and set off like dominoes.

Before the game on July 18, JustServe is hosting a Tailgate Party at Highland Park from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mountain View Hospital is sponsoring the event. There will be live music, bounce houses, jousting, cotton candy, sno cones and other snacks and activities.

It’s free for anyone who’d like to attend.

Earlier this week, the Idaho Falls Chukars served lunch at the Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen, which you can watch in the video above. EastIdahoNews.com stopped by and spoke with pitcher Rob Hughes about the reason for their service.

“This community supports the Chukars and we saw this as a good opportunity for us to give back. A lot of us aren’t from Idaho Falls … and it’s nice to have that community and strengthen that bond whenever we can,” Hughes said.

Hundreds of people benefitted from the Chukars’ service on Wednesday. Needy families received a hot meal of chicken, green beans, baked beans, cookies and lemonade.

It was a rewarding experience for Hughes to see so many benefit from the team’s efforts that day.

So far this season, the Chukars have a record of 17 wins and eight losses. They are currently tied for second place in the Pioneer Baseball League.

The JustServe night with the Idaho Falls Chukars has been in the works for about a year. Stuck is grateful for the team’s efforts to partner with them and for their willingness to serve at the soup kitchen and “put some skin in the game for the city of Idaho Falls.”