The San Diego Padres kicked off their annual Holiday Giving Tour today, Nov. 25, a do-gooder tradition where they lend a hand to local groups working to support underserved folks around town.
This year’s tour gets rolling with a Turkey Distribution event aimed at feeding 1,000 families. Picture this: team players, a broadcaster, and even the CEO, handing out turkeys and Thanksgiving fixings alongside the folks from Northgate Market and the San Diego Food Bank. Righty Jeremiah Estrada, broadcaster Mark Grant, and CEO Erik Greupner are among those suiting up—not in baseball gear, but in charity mode.
Celebrating Peter’s birthday in the best way we can 💛
With funding from the Padres Foundation, our front office employees spent the day assembling and delivering 1,000 care packages to unhoused San Diegans across our community. pic.twitter.com/SAMzx3RZ3a
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) November 8, 2024
Handing out turkeys is just the opening act. The Holiday Giving Tour will keep the Padres busy all month, crisscrossing San Diego and even dipping into the Baja region. This isn’t a new thing for the Padres, either. They’ve been at it for years, driven by a mission to give back—a mission that their late owner Peter Seidler carried forward with gusto.
Seidler wasn’t your average baseball owner. He didn’t just run the team; he spent countless hours on a cause that went far beyond the ballpark—homelessness. Seidler was deeply involved in tackling the issue, pouring his time, energy, and resources into finding solutions. Whether through Padres-related foundations or independent efforts, he was a force for change, earning titles like 2022 San Diegan of the Year and the 2023 Herb Klein Spirit of San Diego Award.
Seidler’s passion didn’t stop with awards or titles. He joined the city’s leadership council on homelessness and championed programs that tried to solve—not just Band-Aid—the problem. Sadly, Seidler passed away last November, but his efforts didn’t end there. The Padres set up the Peter Seidler Legacy Fund to carry the torch, ensuring his work would continue.
Earlier this month, Seidler would’ve turned 64. The team decided to honor him the best way they knew how: by helping the people he cared about most. On his birthday, Nov. 7, the Padres front office pulled together care packages filled with essentials, which they distributed to several local charities focused on homelessness. It wasn’t just a nod to Seidler’s memory—it was a promise to keep doing what he would’ve done.
“We’re trying to honor him today by supporting several local organizations that minister to the needs of the unhoused,” said Greupner, the Padres CEO, in a heartfelt video tribute. “He spent a lot of time and resources devoted to that. So we want to carry on his legacy and tradition—not only this year but for the years to come.”
The Padres, it seems, aren’t just a baseball team. They’re a reminder that even in the world of sports, some legacies are bigger than the game.
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