MESA, Ariz. — Spring training has almost wrapped up and one of the 10 Cactus League ballparks is celebrating 10 years in the Valley.
When fans flood into the ballpark their focus likely goes straight to the field. However, if you take a moment to scan the main concourse, you'll see Mesa Hohokams ushering in guests.
The Hohokams, a charity, have been around since 1951.
At the ballpark, they greet attendees with smiles at gate.
They also work on getting attendees to buy tickets for their 50/50 raffle sales.
Using the raffle, the charity raises and distributes money for a variety of East Valley organizations and schools.
Anita Peters co-chairs the Hohokams. She said this is the best way to give back to the community.
"We have 60 auxiliary volunteers, a lot of them are snowbirds and come in from Illinois and they usher and do gate entry and they just love being here,” Peters explained.
Dozens of organizations benefit.
"We give to youth sports, women's shelters and even the Mesa Historical Museum to name a few but there’s 70 nonprofits we give back to," said Peters.
The size of the ballpark also helps when it comes to giving back.
"This is the biggest ballpark that exists in Arizona, and we get amazing crowds for each and every game," Peters added.
12News spoke to several people involved, like Stephanie Siete who is making a difference, both selling tickets and seeing money go back into Community Bridges.
"I've been doing this 50/50 raffle for the last ten years that we've been in existence and sometimes the fans think they're buying 20 tickets, but they end up buying more because they like to learn about where the money goes," said Siete.
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