[VIDEO] Wounded Soldier Returns to Cheshire for Community Fundraiser

The fundraising event for Pfc. Joshua Budd was packed Sunday with well wishers streaming into the VFW Hall on Cheshire Street in Prospect.

It was the first weekend Budd has returned home since he was severely injured in an IED attack in Afghanistan. He lost his left leg above the knee, fractured his right leg and had serious internal injuries.

Organizers estimate that about 800 tickets were sold to the event which raised donations to help the Budd family with travel costs to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland where Joshua Budd is recuperating. 

The homecoming coincidentally occurred on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, lending poignancy to the event which was planned as soon as neighbors Danielle Dorin and Peggy Baker heard of Budd's injuries.

Budd returned to the medical center in Maryland on Monday and is expected to be transferred to outpatient status this week, according to his mother, Barbara Budd. Budd is also scheduled for more surgery on Sept. 19, his mother wrote in an online journal.

Donations to the Budd family may continue to be made through a special account:

Joshua Budd, c/o Webster Bank, 145 Highland Ave. Cheshire, CT 06410.

The Cheshire Volunteer Fire Department is also raising funds to buy a specially adapted truck for Josh once he returns to Cheshire. Those donations may be made through this account: 

The Josh Budd Wounded War Vet Fund, c/o The Naugatuck Savings Bank, 218 Maple Avenue, Cheshire, CT 06410 or by logging into your PayPal account and sending money to account name:buddsbuddies@cox.net.