Close to 1,000 Attend Tournament for Injured Soldier

This article first appeared on Cheshire Patch.

Four fundraising events were planned in less than a week after residents heard Cheshire soldier Joshua Budd, 19, had been severally injured in a bombing in Afghanistan.

The largest event so far was Sunday's benefit softball tournament. Nearly 1,000 players and supporters attended the single-elimnation contest.

Organized by the Cheshire Youth Baseball/Softball league, the 19-team tournament at Bartlem Park could well have raised around $4,000.

Members of the Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department captured the event with aerial photos taken from their ladder truck. The photos of hundreds of tournament-goers gathered in the infield will be emailed to Budd at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland where he is being treated.

Budd lost a leg in the explosion and his other leg was severally injured. Dave Budd, Joshua Budd's father, said his son received skin grafts Friday on his leg.

Dave Budd said he will return Monday for his third visit to the hospital. Joshua's mother, Barbara, has been at the facility since her son arrived. The couple have five children.

The next fundraising event for the family will be held on Sept. 11 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the VFW Hall at 215 Cheshire Rd. in Prospect.

Also, an ongoing effort by 'Budd’s Buddies," a newly formed group of residents will raise funds to provide Joshua Budd with a new pickup truck when he gets back home.

All non-tax deductible donations can be made to:

The Josh Budd Wounded War Vet Fund
C/O Naugatuck Savings Bank
218 Maple Avenue
Cheshire, CT 06416

-or-

PayPal Account: buddsbuddies@cox.net