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Look for Winter Sports Opportunities Still Available at STARS Colorado Ranch

Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS) in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, opened registration for four ski adventures in early 2024 for disabled veterans, including a new program session for women veterans only. Lodging, ski equipment, lift ticket, along with breakfast, snacks, and dinner, are all included in the 5-day/4-night package. Lodging is at the STARS Ranch. Read more. Session dates are: Veterans Ski & Ride Session 1: January 14 – 18 Women’s Ski & Ride Week: February […]

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BVA Buddy Checks Forge Ahead 

Supporting last week’s National Buddy Check Week, BVA will continue for the foreseeable future with its own Buddy Check effort, carried out by the Association’s two graduating classes of Ambassadors. The effort includes a check on well-being and an offer of support.  Ambassadors are trained blind and low vision volunteers who are passionate about helping other veterans. They are reaching out by phone or email simply to check in and provide information about BVA resources […]

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Recognizing National Day of the Deployed

National Day of the Deployed is October 26, falling this year on Thursday of next week. The day honors all service members who are now deployed, or have been, as they serve their country in uniform, including thousands of past and present BVA members. It also acknowledges the sacrifices that military parents, siblings, spouses, and children make during deployment.  The recognition is a recent one with roots in the upper Midwest. North Dakotan Shelle Michaeles […]

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WVG to Resume Online Meetings Next Thursday

Following a lively in-person Women Veterans Group (WVG) meeting on August 16 at the BVA 78th National Convention and a break in September, the regularly scheduled general membership virtual meetings will start up again this Thursday, October 26, at 6:00pm Eastern Time via Zoom. “We look forward to seeing all of our BVA women veterans at the meeting,” said Group Chair Yoneka Trent. “We are women … Let’s go, Girls! We have a new beginning […]

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Next Week’s VetTech Sessions: Be My Eyes—See the World Together

Join BVA’s VetTech Team on Wednesday, October 25, at 2:00pm Eastern Time as the upcoming Weekly Wednesday Webinar features Mike Buckley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Be My Eyes. Mike will explain this service, free of charge, that connects the blind and low vision with sighted volunteers and company representatives for the purpose of visual assistance through a live video call.  During the webinar next week, Mike will add the important footnotes to successful […]

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Successful Ohio Golf Outing Offers BVA Needed and Appreciated Support

BVA was again the fortunate beneficiary of proceeds from the Mark Kline Memorial Golf Outing this past July 29 in Norton, Ohio. The event, now six years in the making and still expanding, celebrates the life of a contact lens and spectacle frame sales representative who admired veterans so much that he annually participated in the Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride in memory of all MIAs and POWs.  Mark Kline’s family and friends, most notably Mark […]

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BVA Members, Regional Groups Highlight Critical Role of White Cane

White Cane Day activities are again on the rise with a restoration of the past interest, thanks to motivated individual BVA members and their regional groups.  After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic that included even last year, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) support groups and their respective Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) Coordinators also commemorated the significance of white cane safety through pre-planned public events such as walks, […]

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Application Process Continues for Winter Sports Clinic 2024

Please act as soon as possible to participate in the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic scheduled for April 1-7, 2024, in Snowmass, Colorado!  The world-class event, co-hosted by VA and Disabled American Veterans, is also supported by a host of private sector sponsors. Registration includes lodging, meals, and a variety of sports and recreation activities such as those enumerated below. Because a doctor must fill out a portion of the application and because demand […]

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MVP Now at 984,000-Plus

With each passing week, VA’s Million Veteran Program (MVP) continues to inch closer to accomplishing its unfathomable goal of a million veterans enrolled.  “We appreciate your continued partnership and support,” Jennifer Deen recently told Veterans Service Organizations. Deen is MVP’s Associate Director of Cohort and Public Relations. MVP is a national research program looking at how genes, lifestyle, military experiences, and exposures affect health and wellness in veterans. The program is the largest research effort at […]

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Veterans Day 2023 Printed Posters Still Available

BVA National Headquarters has received from VA a limited supply of 11” X 17” printed posters to publicize and promote Veterans Day, now just four weeks away! The posters can be displayed in classrooms, civic and community centers, government buildings such as VA facilities, military installations, and individual offices across the country. Although the BVA allotment is limited, a few extra copies remain for interested BVA members and friends. The VA Veterans Day National Committee […]