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Arroyo hopes to strike a blow for disabled vets Reds pitcher will donate $100 for every strikeout he throws Monday, May 28, 2007 CINCINNATI — Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo is following the lead of golfer Phil Mickelson by teaming up with Homes For Our Troops, an organization that provides homes at no cost to injured or disabled war veterans. Arroyo will donate $100 for every strikeout he records from now until the end of the season. In addition, he will donate a portion of the proceeds from his concert Sunday night — he sings and plays guitar for the Bronson Arroyo Band — at the Lodge Bar in Cincinnati. "I haven't done much charity work before," Arroyo said before Sunday's game. "Getting involved with this organization really puts things in perspective for me." Proceeds go to the general fund of HFOT, which plans to select one local serviceman or servicewoman as the recipient of a new home. HFOT, which also features Mickelson's "Birdies For The Brave" campaign, builds homes that are specially adapted to cater to the disabled veteran's needs, said John Gonsalves, who founded HFOT in 2004. In three years, HFOT has built or renovated 18 houses and is working on 30 more projects. One of HFOT's beneficiaries, Cpl. Bobby Isaacs, will throw out the first pitch at today's Reds game. In 2005, HFOT teamed with the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to purchase and renovate a home for Isaacs, an Iraq war veteran who lost both legs in 2004 when his convoy was ambushed. Isaacs said he planned to attend Arroyo's concert. Reds manager Jerry Narron was still undecided. "I might go for a little bit," he said, smiling. Asked what his favorite song in Arroyo's repertoire is, Narron said: "Dirty Water," a song by The Standells. |
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