ROCHESTER — For the Knapp family, life changed forever when the unthinkable happened to their oldest son, Alex, March 14.

Knapp, who was part of the 230th Military Police Company of the U.S. Army, was patrolling with other soldiers when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle. He and three other soldiers suffered severe injuries, and for 22-year-old Alex, that meant both of his legs had to be amputated above the knee.

While Knapp is recuperating at an outpatient facility in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., friends and family back home are organizing events with the hope of raising funds to help with his recovery.

Members of the Great Oaks Country Club in Rochester have secured a 2009 Cadillac CTS, which they plan to raffle off during their 2008 Golf Invitational Aug. 8.

For $100 a ticket, 2,500 people will have the chance to win the car and help Knapp receive the care he needs, said Brad Ramirez, Great Oaks golf operations manager.

“Alex worked for me and my predecessor for the better part of 10 years,” Ramirez said. “You couldn’t find a better person with a better personality. We couldn’t let someone who was so close to us and with us for so long go without some sort of help.”

So far, members of Great Oaks have collected more than $4,800, Ramirez said. They hope to raise $300,000.

“We figure he’ll need a vehicle down the road. He’s going to have to have his house outfitted with equipment,” Ramirez said. “The money will be his, so this will hopefully give him whatever he needs.”

Knapp, who worked for the Great Oaks County Club since the age of 12, graduated from Eisenhower High School in Shelby Township before joining the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Explore program.

Along the way, he was a volunteer firefighter for Rochester Hills and a student studying criminal justice at Michigan State University. He had the ultimate goal of becoming a police officer. In January 2007, Knapp enlisted in the Army, and he was shipped to Iraq on Dec. 26.

While on a mission outside of Baghdad, two days after his birthday and just days before he was to return home on leave, his vehicle was hit. Since then, his mother, Jeannette, has been by his side, offering encouragement.

Jeannette said that though it’s been a long process so far, with Alex undertaking many procedures and facing many more, the family is staying strong. He’s already been fitted for a socket and took his first steps June 12.

“We are so very lucky. I tell Alex that all the time,” Jeannette said. “We were so close to losing him at the beginning that this is just a blessing.”

The family is no stranger to challenges, either, Jeannette said. Alex’s father, Eric, has been fighting cancer. But he and Alex’s brother, Shane, 17, have still been commuting from Michigan to Washington to be with him.

The outpouring of support from friends and complete strangers has been touching, she said, and in the future she won’t hesitate to pay it forward.

“If I ever had the opportunity I wouldn’t miss the chance to pay it forward,” Jeannette said. “You just never know when someone else may be faced with something like this. We are just so grateful.”

Raffle tickets can be purchased for $100 through Aug. 8 or until 2,500 are sold. Raffle participants must be 18 or older to enter. Payment of taxes and surcharges is necessary to win. Winners need not be present to win. For more information, contact Great Oaks Country Club, 777 Great Oaks Blvd., at (248) 651-6566.

C & G Staff Writer Kristyne Demske contributed to this report.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer S. McDonald at jmcdonald@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1112.