Alumnus MLB pitcher Lindblom to speak at NFF benefit for local charities

Josh Lindblom, a graduate of and former baseball pitcher at Harrison High School and Purdue, will speak about his call to community service Tuesday (Nov. 5) at a benefit luncheon for four area causes. Two of those causes, tying to Purdue's Military Appreciation Day at this week's football game, are related to veterans.

Lindblom and his wife, Aurielle, have used his platform as a Major League pitcher to provide school supplies and food for needy residents of Tippecanoe County.

The luncheon, presented by the National Football Foundation Joe Tiller Chapter of Northwest Indiana, will run from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at Bruno's Restaurant, 212 Brown St. on the Levee. It is titled "Community Makers: Duty Calls."

"I have been very fortunate and very blessed over the first 26 years of my life," says Lindblom, who has pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. "I think it's only right that I give a portion of my time and resources back into the community that has raised and supported me. Even though you don't see some of those needs on the surface, there are many people in this community who need our help. I feel it is a duty that God is calling on me to act upon."

The luncheon will benefit:
* Food Finders of Lafayette through the Josh Lindblom Foundation.
* Honor Flight through the Lafayette Gold Star Mothers.
* Krannert School of Management's Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities.
* The scholarship program of the NFF Joe Tiller Chapter.

Tickets for the luncheon are $25 each and are available through several organizations (Food Finders, Gold Star Mothers, Krannert’s EBV Program and the NFF), as well as online at www.eventbrite.com/directory?loc=West+Lafayette,+IN. Proceeds will be divided up based on the ticket order response form and the remainder split equally among these four charities.

Interested parties should send checks made out to the National Football Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) foundation, if they would like to claim a tax-deductible donation. Or they may order via credit card online at Eventbrite. 

The program also will include:
* Ray Miller, 91, a World War II veteran who recently participated in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
* Ryan Spesard, 19, the NFF’s scholarship winner as the Indiana 2013 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
* A veteran with disabilities who is taking part Nov. 1-9 in the EBV program.

Rob Hughes, the new WLFI-TV sports director, will serve as emcee for the luncheon, and patriotic music will be provided by local "rising star" vocalist Karli Edging.

Also assisting with the luncheon is Purdue’s Trademarks Licensing Office and a student organization known as Purdue Gold Standard.

For more information, contact David Wilson at 49-41077 or dcwilson@purdue.edu, Jim Vruggink at 49-42086 or jvruggink@purdue.edu, or Abby Hawn at 49-41733 or abbyhawn@purdue.edu.