Contributed by Christopher Harris
An all day softball tournament and family picnic will take place on Saturday September 3rd, 2011 to help raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization that empowers, honors and aids wounded warriors returned home from a war.
This is the second year, and building on last year’s success, this year will add a family picnic, which will feature activities for children including a ‘jump castle’, carnival games, face painters and a live stage with entertainment ranging from children based acts early in the day to live bands in the evening. Beer and food vendors will include Brown Cow Ice Cream & Woody’s Catering.
A group of veterans formed the Wounded Warrior Project to help give tangible support to wounded soldiers who have come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Wounded Warrior Program’s goals include raising public awareness of the needs of severely-wounded servicemen and women, helping these severely-injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.
“The needs of wounded veterans can be varied and difficult to deal with,” said Chris Harris, the fundraiser organizer. “They might need prosthetic limbs, surgery, psychiatric counseling, medication and more. Medical expenses can be too much for almost anyone, but we allow our veterans to suffer when we can make a difference and put them on the road to healing. All we’re asking is for people to come play some softball or just come out to watch and participate in the raffle and take in the social aspect … the end result will be some veterans getting the care they need.”
The one-day event begins on the morning of Saturday, September 3, at 9:30 am at the Forest Park Park Distric, 7501 W Harrison, home of the 16″ softball national invitational tournament and Hall of Fame. A version of softball called “mushball” will be played, in which a 14″ inch softball is used, similar to 16″ inch, men do not wear gloves.
“On behalf of the injured service members, we want to thank the Fall Nationals’ team for their dedication to our nation’s heroes. Their commitment is helping ensure the tremendous personal sacrifices service men and women make for our country are not forgotten,” said Wounded Warrior Project Executive Director Steven Nardizzi.
There will be cash prizes and a trophy for the first-place team, the fee is $275 per team.
If you have any questions, or are interested in participating, sponsoring or contributing to the silent auction please contact Chris Harris at 773.317.4455 or Harris.Christopher@ymail.com
More information on Facebook visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120162728065787
