Jones brothers set for charity softball game at Southwest University Park

Green Bay Packers tailback Aaron Jones plays his home football games at Lambeau Field so he has a high bar for what constitutes hallowed ground, but he knows his and his brother Alvin's charity softball game at Southwest University Park on Friday will be special.

"I was here when the field was built so I grew up on Chihuahua games, Locomotive games," said Jones, who was a freshman at UTEP when ground was broken on El Paso's downtown showpiece. "To play on that field will be special. I hope we can pack it out and have a great night."

That's the goal for the first A&A All The Way Foundation Charity Softball Game, which will bring two teams of celebrities to Southwest University Park, one (Showtyme) captained by Aaron and one (Vino All-Stars) by Alvin.

Many of UTEP's current and recent NFL players are coming, including Nik Needham, Will Hernandez, Quintin Demps and Eric Tomlinson. There are also former local stars such as Burges alum John Skelton, who played for the Arizona Cardinals, and Socorro alum Omar Quintanilla, who played part of nine seasons in the Major Leagues.

Both rosters have other NFL players on them and many of the pros will be helping at Alvin and Aaron's fifth annual free football camp Saturday at Burges (the camp is already full).

Aaron Jones said he got the idea for the softball game from participating in these in Wisconsin.

"I played in a couple in Green Bay, it's a thing they do every summer," Jones said. "My brother played in a couple in Baltimore. We thought is was a cool experience, we saw the turnout that we would get when we would do it.

"It's another way to bring out celebrity friends, athletes and give them a chance to see your city, but at the same time give the fans in our city a chance to interact and see those guys up close and personal. This also brings awareness to our foundation, what we're doing here in El Paso and the Wisconsin area and how people can get involved."

More: Aaron Jones showcases new restaurant, Showtyme Sports Grill, in East El Paso

Alvin expanded upon the brothers' charitable endeavors.

"Aaron does the Yards for Shoes, so every yard (from scrimmage) he gets he gives a pair of shoes for underprivileged kids and last year we delivered them to some schools," Alvin Jones said.

"We did the freedom campaign for military families. We know that struggle firsthand, having to sit through that, your parents are away overseas, not sure when they are coming back. We want to be a resource to those kids because not only do the parents go through it, the kids go through it too.

"We've done some bike giveaways in Milwaukee in December."

Said Aaron: "Turkey drops for Thanksgiving as well. We've been putting on free camps since graduating college."

Part of what makes this special for Aaron Jones is that he doesn't make it to El Paso as frequently as he used to, but this will always be his hometown and mark his first trip back since COVID restrictions dramatically lessened.

"I don't get back too often anymore, maybe a month total (per year) on and off, back and forth," Aaron Jones said. "It's very special coming back to El Paso. This is welcome back to normal. I haven't been to El Paso since it's been normal. It will be good to be back."

More: Aaron Jones describes home as 'faith, family, and dedication' in ESPN show, Home Base

As for the celebrity softball rosters, Aaron and Alvin had a draft, and Aaron made it clear what his priorities were when he selected his team.

"I want to win," Aaron said. "I'll hang out with my buddies after the game, but when we're in the diamond I'm trying to win. (He and Alvin) will be competing against each other like it was camp."

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

A&A All The Way Foundation Charity Softball Game

When, where: Friday night. 6:30 p.m. home run derby, 7:30 p.m. game, Southwest University Park.

Tickets: $25-40.

Rosters:

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Aaron, Alvin Jones for first charity softball game in El Paso