Sikorsky and Teamsters raise $90K for vets

It”™s not often that you come face to face with a helicopter on a baseball field, but that”™s what happened in Bridgeport on Aug. 19 when Sikorsky, the Lockheed Martin company, which just happens to manufacture helicopters, and Teamsters Local 1150 sponsored their seventh annual Homerun for Heroes charity baseball game.

The event took place at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard, and more than 2,000 fans were on hand to watch the Sikorsky chopper touch down in center field. Sikorsky sponsored nearly 300 veterans and their families at the event, and the game”™s opening ceremony was a display of military appreciation and pride.

This year”™s event raised more than $90,000 for veterans”™ charities. Since Homerun for Heroes started in 2010, it has raised more than $320,000 to help veterans.

Beneficiaries this year are: Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, which helps veterans overcome legal barriers to housing, health care and income; Connecticut Fallen Heroes Foundation, which was founded at Sikorsky to honor and recognize the families of those who have fallen while serving to the country; Harkness House/Columbus House, a transitional housing facility in New Haven for homeless veterans; and Female Soldiers: Forgotten Heroes, a community-based transitional facility for homeless female veterans and their children.