James van Riemsdyk virtually meets military family and big-time hockey fans

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For many, being stuck at home while social distancing has been quite a transition, but there’s one family that is making the most of every moment. 

Tom Luft, a U.S. Navy pilot who has served for 18 years, wanted to do something special for his two kids. Through the United Heroes League, he submitted a nomination to the organization’s “Talk With a Pro,” initiative  in hopes to receive a video chat with their favorite ambassador. 

United Heroes League actively works to ensure that children of military service members can afford every opportunity to participate in sports. We have provided over $12 million worth of free sports equipment, game tickets, cash grants, sports camps and special experiences to military families across the United States and Canada. 

United Heroes League wants to ensure that all 5 million military kids are able to develop critical life skills through sports. The intense focus on youth development and serving the families of our military service members motivates us to keep programs focused. This focus has also inspired over 115 professional athletes and over 30 professional sports franchises to lend their name and support to United Heroes League. 

-From the United Heroes League mission statement 

Luckily, the Lufts — a military family that resides in Media, PA., were granted the opportunity to participate and able to live out their hockey dreams by having a one-on-one with Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk. 

Everett and Avery, the two sons in the family were able to ask the ambassador a wide range of questions, including who is his favorite teammate, what is his favorite sport aside from hockey and what's his go-to emoji of choice. He also goes into detail about some other very important topics, like how he likes his pizza and the best burger chain restaurant he's been to. 

Van Riemsdyk has been an ambassador for the organization since 2015, something that carried over from his time playing in Toronto. 

You can go here to learn more about the United Heroes League or make a donation to help assist military families of all branches. 

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