GARY, Ind. – The Gary SouthShore RailCats, together with 18 local charities and Gary’s own Fresh County Market, donated 400 turkeys to needy families at U. S. Steel Yard Tuesday afternoon.

The RailCats, in partnership with Fresh County Market as part of Tickets for Turkeys, gave a voucher for a free turkey redeemable at Fresh County Market to everyone who purchased a 2011 flex pack before November 19 and in addition, donated a voucher redeemable only at U. S. Steel Yard on November 23 to one of the following 18 local charitable organizations:

20^th Century Church

Alternative House

American Red Cross

Arc Bridges

Calumet Township Shelter

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Food Bank of Northwest Indiana

Gary Armory, Family Assistance

Gary Commission for Women

Gary Police Department

Metro Corps of Gary

The Salvation Army

Sojourner Truth House

The Alpha House

The Boys & Girls Club

The Gospel Truth Apostolic Church

The United Way

Urban League

Over the past few weeks, the RailCats circulated turkey vouchers to their partner charities and those organizations identified families in need and distributed the vouchers. The recipients of the vouchers were directed to U. S. Steel Yard Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where Owner Lindy Salvi, Manager Greg Tagert, infielders Tanner Townsend and Mike Rohde, hitting coach Mick Curran, Rusty the RailCat and the RailCats front office staff were on hand to unload and pass out the turkeys.

“My wife Lindy and I, on behalf of the Salvi family and the entire RailCats organization, are so proud to be able to give something back to this great community,” said RailCats Owner/CEO Pat Salvi. “We got such a great response last year and we are so grateful for the opportunity to show our gratitude to the wonderful people of this city.”

The RailCats will open its inaugural season as a member of the American Association in May 2011. The full 2011 schedule will be announced in the coming weeks so be sure to visit www.railcatsbaseball.com and follow the RailCats on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news and information.