Holiday Heroes Hits Home Run
Photos by Devlin Shand, Susana Bates, and Ando Caulfield for Drew Altizer
The Wender Weis Foundation for Children transformed AT&T Park into a winter wonderland once more for Holiday Heroes, the annual holiday celebration that aims to uplift children and their families by bringing Bay Area sports legends to the field. This year, former Giants right fielder Hunter Pence and his spouse, Alexis Pence, were honored with the Inspiration Award for their dedicated work to end childhood hunger in the U.S. through No Kid Hungry. Williams-Sonoma’s Jean Armstrong was also honored with the inaugural Community Philanthropy Award.
A few other sports stars spreading cheer? Let’s name names: 49ers Solomon Thomas, Ricky Watters, and Ian Williams, along with Raiders Jason Cabinda and Kelechi Osmele. Olympic gold medalist and women’s basketball legend Jennifer Azzi was also on the field. Azzi’s long list of accolades include Stanford national champion, former head coach of the University of San Francisco’s women’s basketball team, and a celebrated WNBA career with the Detroit Shock and Utah Starzz turned San Antonio Silver Stars.
Date: December 4
Location: AT&T Park
Attendees: 1,500 guests
Sports teams: SF Giants, SF 49ers, Oakland Raiders, San Jose Earthquakes
Cause: Inspiring underserved children and their families
Impact: More than 400 children benefited
