CHAMPAIGN — Ask Sgt. Garrett Anderson about Wounded Warriors, and he'll tell about his own comeback from severe injuries.

Anderson was severely wounded while serving in Iraq, sustaining a variety of injuries, including a brain injury and the loss of an arm, in a roadside bomb explosion.

The Bellflower native will be a speaker next week at a fundraiser for the Wounded Warriors Project, a group that helped him when he was in the hospital and also later, when he had to fight to get the benefits due him.

The third annual Keller Williams Champaign Cares Cash Bash's goal is to raise more than $10,000 for Wounded Warriors, an organization dedicated to helping injured soldiers and veterans adjust and prepare themselves for life after their service.

Judy Wertz, a real-estate agent with Keller Williams, said the company seeks out one organization a year to raise money for. The top prize is a $5,000 raffle. She said there's also a chance to win smaller raffle prizes of $100 or $500.

It will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 22 at the VFW hall at 609 Edgebrook Drive, C, just off Bloomington Road. Tickets are $100 per couple.

Anderson noted that the ticket includes dinner and drinks for the evening.

The father of a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, Anderson recently graduated from Illinois State University.

He said the project begins to help injured soldiers as soon as they are in the hospital, with an advocate in each major military hospital, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

"They help through peer mentoring programs, financial advice, giving us excursions. They take soldiers skiing or fishing or hunting," he said.

The point Wounded Warriors wants to make, Anderson said, is that the injuries are "life-changing, not life-ending."

"They linked me up with other soldiers with similar experiences. They also took my wife to a retreat in Idaho to talk about support. The wives often have no one to talk to in their communities; soldiers are so spread out," he said.

He said the project is "really focused on the younger generation. The TRACK program helps get them into college, teaches them life skills, home maintenance, how to run a household."

TRACK is a residential college and vocational skills program for wounded soldiers who attend classes as a group. Veterans get individual academic, career and health counseling, according to its web site.

For tickets to the benefit, call 239-7114.

You can also donate directly to Wounded Warriors at http://bit.ly/mApOVk.