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VetTech demonstrates and reviews the VA Health and Benefits iOS app with VoiceOver

In this VetTech tutorial, Tim, BVA Director of Special Initiatives and CATIS, demonstrates the features available in the VA Health and Benefits iOS app with VoiceOver. The VA health and Benefits app makes accessing crucial Veteran information and services a breeze thanks to the very accessible and intuitive interface. Veterans will be able to: Check the status of active and closed claims; review the decision made on a closed claim; Review upcoming and pst medical […]

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VetTech spotlights OrCam’s customer and support resources during the 12/7 Weekly Wednesday Webinar

This recording from the December 7, 2022 VetTech Weekly Wednesday Webinar series featured Josh Rivera, OrCam’s Florida regional sales manager. Josh discussed resources and options to fully harness OrCam’s capabilities. This compliments VetTech’s previous presentations about OrCam’s award-Winning AI technology, by learning about their equally powerful customer and support resources. In this webinar, participants will learn about: How to contact OrCam’s customer support; Where to find guides for OrCam’s Read and MyEye Pro; and Common […]

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VetTech spotlights Eschenbach Optik of America’s extensive line of innovative and high-quality magnification and vision enhancing devices on 11/30 Weekly Wednesday Webinars

This recording from the November 30, 2022 VetTech Weekly Wednesday Webinars features Timothy Gels, the Director of Marketing at Eschenbach. The presentation provides an overview of Eschenbach Optik award-winning array of optical and electronic vision aids that can help those with vision loss improve their independence, productivity and quality of life. In this webinar, participants will learn about key Eschenbach devices in these product categories: Video magnifiers Spectacle magnifiers Lamp magnifiers Telescopic vision aids All […]

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BVA To Host July 12-14 Virtual Townhall Sessions

Members of the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) are invited and encouraged to attend one of three scheduled townhall meetings next week to learn more about and discuss a proposed comprehensive revision of the national bylaws. The need for such a revision originates from observations of BVA’s national and regional group leadership that the document contains many inconsistencies and structural variances scattered throughout. Unlike the isolated amendments that have traditionally been considered, voted on, and adopted […]

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BVA Supports H.R. 3967, Urges Caution

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), the only Veterans Service Organization (VSO) exclusively dedicated to serving our nation’s blinded veterans and their families, was among a coalition of 11 VSO advocates participating in a January 19 roundtable discussion of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs focused on H.R. 3967, the “Honoring our PACT Act of 2021.” The virtual roundtable was hosted by Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-CA-41) and Ranking Member Mike Bost (R-IL-12). Passage of the […]

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BVA Announces 2022 Scholarships and Awards

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has made available information and application materials for its Kathern F. Gruber and Thomas H. Miller Scholarship Program for the 2022-23 academic year. Spouses, children, and grandchildren of blinded veterans are welcome to apply. Additional eligibility criteria for the scholarships and application materials can be accessed (HERE).    Similar resources and applications to nominate candidates for BVA’s four national recognitions, awarded annually, are also available. To learn more about the […]

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Bookshare Requests Blinded Veteran Assistance

Bookshare, a Silver-level sponsor and a session presenter at the Blinded Veterans Association’s 76th Virtual National Convention last summer, is requesting the help of BVA and BVA members in order to better serve its present and future adult clientele. Are you a current or past Bookshare member? Have you considered using Bookshare but decided not to become a member? You can help Bookshare better serve the adult community by sharing your feedback in a brief […]

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Helen Keller National Center Recruiting Participants for Research on Describing Portraits and People

The Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) in Sands Point, New York, is seeking blind, low-vision, and DeafBlind participants for group and individual online interviews on how to describe portraits and people. According to Megan A. Conway, PhD, HKNC Research and Accessibility Specialist, the interviews will take approximately 90 minutes and will be conducted online for blinded veterans via the convenience and comfort of their own homes. “The interviews will focus specifically on the preferences of […]

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VA Virtual Adaptive Fitness Event Open to Blinded Veterans

Sports4Vets Throwdown, a virtual adaptive fitness competition hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events, is open for registration now through January 5 for veterans of all ability levels, ages, and backgrounds who wish to showcase their fitness, live healthier lives through adaptive fitness, and embrace a sense of virtual community. The competition runs January 12-31. Any veteran who is enrolled in VA health care is welcome […]

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Season’s Greetings from BVA National President Joseph D. McNeil, Sr.

Esteemed BVA Members, Volunteers, Friends, Partners, and Staff: On behalf of our National Board of Directors, I wish for each of you and yours a pleasant and happy holiday season. May the season be filled with joy, peace, and hope for prosperity in the New Year! This is the best time of year to reflect on the things in our lives that are of greatest worth and, in many instances, sacred to us. Although peace […]