Marlins help out community during holidays

MIAMI -- It's the most wonderful time of the year, and the Marlins have been doing their part to ensure that's the case for the local community.

Minor Leaguers Jose Salas, Víctor Mesa Jr. and Víctor Víctor Mesa as well as alumnus Charles Johnson helped host a Holiday Wishes Party on Thursday at loanDepot park. One hundred students from Alpha Charter of Excellence School (ACES) did arts and crafts in the home bullpen, ate holiday treats, made ornaments, played games and received gifts from Billy the Marlin.

Mesa Jr., who grew up in Havana, Cuba, enjoyed competing in games like "Simon Says" and "Red Light, Green Light" for the first time with the kids out in left field. The 20-year-old prospect got in the holiday spirit by wearing a Santa hat along with his jersey.

"When I was in Cuba, I didn't even ask for a gift," Mesa Jr. said. "But I think the best gift that I got was my family, with health and all together. That's the best gift that I can get for my life."

Thursday marked just one of several events the Marlins have held this week leading up to the holidays, according to Raquel "Rocky" Egusquiza, the VP of DEI and executive director of the Miami Marlins Foundation. On Monday, Marlins general manager Kim Ng joined Billy the Marlin to deliver gifts to the Leon and Larmond families. Jessica Leon is a 37-year-old single mom of two with intellectual disabilities, while Brittany Larmond is a 32-year-old single mother of four who volunteered with foster youth and families for many years and currently helps out with the local food bank.

On Tuesday, the Marlins delivered gifts to CNC, a nonprofit in Little Havana, and helped throw the kids a holiday party. On Wednesday, food distributions took place at Gwen Cherry Park and Poinciana Park.

"In terms of us as an organization being out in the community, Rocky has done a great job this entire week of getting out there with the holidays being just around the corner," Ng said. "I went out on Monday with Billy the Marlin to visit a couple of families who have fallen on some rough times. But it was great to get out there and just try to spread a little bit of holiday cheer to them. So we give the kids presents, toys, we invited them out to the ballpark next year. Everyday household items as well. It was really good to get out there."

Since the beginning of the month, the Miami Marlins Foundation has also been hosting weekly food distributions at various schools in Liberty City and Little Havana. More than 600 families will receive boxes of food and fresh produce, and 600 gift cards from Sedano’s Supermarkets will be distributed in the Little Havana community.

Last month, the Miami Marlins Foundation hosted its 13th annual Home Plate Meals Thanksgiving Distribution, providing dinners to 1,000 families. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Marlins have supplied more than 1.3 million meals to the South Florida community, as part of an effort to address urgent food security needs.

"There's so many needs in the community, and we just want to make sure we're doing our part and making our impact," Egusquiza said. "We look at the local community around the ballpark, so we focused our efforts this year in Little Havana and in Liberty City, obviously two of the most underserved communities that are right in our neighborhood and right in our backyard. We partner with different nonprofit organizations to help identify those in need and do our part to give a splash of sunshine during the holiday time."