Charity Dodgeball Tournament In Wheaton This Week

5th Annual Franklin Dodgeball Madness - FOOTBALL PROMO via YouTube

The following was provided by Franklin Middle School:

"Franklin Middle School in Wheaton, IL is hosting its Fifth Annual Dodgeball Tournament on March 8, 9, 10, and 11.

The theme of the 2017 event is “Service and Sacrifice.” With that in mind, the 2017 tournament will benefit the following charities and organizations: The DuPage Hundred Club; Team Red, White and Blue; The Pat Tillman Foundation; and Franklin Middle School. Each organization will benefit equally from the proceeds.

Highlights of the four-day tournament include High School Football Night on March 8. This evening features 28 local high school football teams and a few colleges participating in a tournament for football players only. Steamboat BBQ is providing a pig roast to kick off the evening. Local police officers and firefighters will be helping serve food to the participants.

Featured speakers include Tom Hruby, a former Navy SEAL who walked on the football team at Northwestern University and completed his career this past spring; and Frank Giammarese, Village of Bloomingdale Police Chief, whose department just experienced its first line of duty death with Officer Raymond Murrel’s tragic accident. Mike Lutzenkirchen of the Lutzie 43 Foundation will speak to the student-athletes at intermission. Mike’s son, Philip Lutzenkirchen, was a star football player and model student at Auburn University. On June 29, 2014, at just 23 years old Philip died in a tragic single vehicle drunk driving accident where he was the passenger.

On March 9 more than 400 Franklin, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South students will compete in the largest day of the tournament. The event begins with an assembly at 2:00 p.m. to honor veterans, police officers, and firefighters.

Approximately 30 Chicagoland law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and Illinois State Police, as well as fire departments will compete against one another on March 10 starting at 7:15 p.m. Confirmed participants span Cook, DuPage and Kane counties.

About the Charities

The DuPage Hundred Club offers assistance to families of firefighters and law enforcement killed, injured, or otherwise stricken while working or living in DuPage County.

Team Red, White and Blue is a veterans assistance organization that enriches the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.

The Pat Tillman Foundation invests in military veterans and their spouses through academic scholarships with the goal of building a community of leaders committed to the service of others.

For more information, contact Joe Kish at Joseph.Kish@cusd200.org or (630) 682-2283. Franklin Middle School is located at 211 E. Franklin Street in Wheaton."

Photo at top: "Dodgeball 016" by Kari Bluff via Flickr (https://creativecommons.org/li...)