RINGGOLD, Ga. — Tim James wants to issue a challenge to every Chattanooga-area prep football program.
The Heritage High School head coach has started what he hopes will be an annual fundraising program to assist wounded returning soldiers in their transition back to civilian life. The Halftime for Heroes Challenge begins at Heritage Aug. 26, starting with the U.S. Army Silver Wings out of Fort Benning, Ga., delivering the game ball with a parachute jump and continuing at halftime when fans are asked to give to the project.
“We would like to challenge other schools to see who can out-do the others,” said James, who already has nine prep programs signed up to pass a bucket at the halftime of their games. “It’s a great cause. These guys have laid their lives on the line and this is the least we can do for them.”
James, who will have 16 members of the Warrior Transition Battalion act as Heritage team captains on opening night, will collect the money at the end of the season and send it to the national Wounded Warrior Fund, which purchases team packs costing $150 that include Under Armour gear for transitioning wounded soldiers.
“It’s a phenomenal philanthropy,” James said. “What they do is, when these guys are wounded they’ve been in a hospital gown for however long, and they give them some Under Armour shorts and t-shirts so they can start to feel normal again. They have rehabilitation to help them transition back into the civilian world.”