Tourists fans pack care packages for local veterans at game night

Under the lights at the Best Buy Metals Pavilion inside HomeTrust Park, Asheville Tourists fans turned Wednesday night into a service project for veterans. Supporters brought empty backpacks to Operation Packs for Patriots and helped assemble care packages for local veteran nonprofits as the Tourists outlasted the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 16-15.

The game began after gates opened at 5:30 p.m., with first pitch at 6:35 p.m., as part of the club’s “Doggies at the Diamond” promotion. Asheville’s High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros gave the crowd a reminder that a home game can also be a volunteer drive, with Southeastern Tile Connection and Best Buy Metals co-sponsoring the effort.

The backpacks and care packages were headed to Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry and Veterans Services of the Carolinas, two organizations already embedded in the region’s veteran support system. ABCCM says its Veterans Services of the Carolinas program provides housing, employment, outreach and call-center service coordination for veterans and their families across North Carolina. The nonprofit also says its broader mission in Buncombe County includes addressing poverty, hunger, homelessness and access to health care for underserved residents.

That local network matters in Asheville, where veterans and their families often need more than a one-night gesture. ABCCM’s veterans work reaches across 26 western North Carolina counties, and its Veterans Restoration Quarters serves as a residential program for homeless veterans. The items packed Wednesday were not symbolic donations sitting on a shelf; they were practical supplies moving into organizations that already handle housing, outreach and homelessness prevention.

The timing added another layer. Asheville-area veterans have faced additional strain since Hurricane Helene, and outreach to veterans continued through the aftermath. Against that backdrop, a crowded ballpark became more than a place to watch a 16-15 shootout. It became a local collection point where a game night delivered something concrete to the people and agencies working with veterans in Buncombe County and across Western North Carolina.