The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) invites you to next week’s virtual meeting of the organization’s Women Veterans Group. The Thursday, January 26, meeting via Zoom beginning at 6:00pm Eastern Time is open to all female blinded veterans. The discussion is not limited to a specific group of women veterans already established nor is attendance at previous meetings a requirement to attend next Thursday’s event. The get-together is a reconvening of the virtual series held on […]

BVA’s quarterly print and electronic publication, The Bulletin, is accepting submissions for one more week for its upcoming Winter 2023 issue. In particular, editors are seeking reports, including photos, on events involving the Association’s regional groups and its members that can be placed in the publication’s Around BVA section. Entries in Around BVA are ideally 200-300 words in length. Brief articles about individual BVA members and their accomplishments are also welcome. Send submissions or specific […]

Amazon introduced AmazonSmile in 2013 as it sought to expand its Prime membership business, enabling customers to designate 0.5 percent of the price of eligible purchases to the charity of their choice. There was no additional cost for customers to donate. The open policy inspired more than a million charities to sign up, including BVA. Many of the Association’s loyal supporters made regular donations to BVA through AmazonSmile. However, Amazon this week announced that the […]

Registration is now open for veteran participation in the 16th National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic scheduled for June 4-9 in San Diego, California. The Clinic, designed to empower veterans of all ability levels whose present rehabilitation goals would benefit from the value of adaptive summer sports, includes the following activities: surfing, kayaking, cycling, sailing, yoga, meditation, and adaptive fitness. For more information and several links to additional details, videos, and forms required for registration, click […]

Veterans eligible to purchase additional Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) will see the first increase in the maximum of such coverage since 2005. The effective date of the increase is March 1, 2023. The increase is due to the signing of S. 2794, the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act, last fall. Individuals under 60 years of age with $400,000 in coverage will be able to purchase more coverage in $25,000 increments up to the […]

The National Research & Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) is in the final stage of recruiting participants for a long-term study on job search skills training. Job-ready adults with blindness or low vision who are not currently employed are encouraged to learn more. The new group will start at the end of this month. Interested individuals must apply by Wednesday of next week (January 25) to be considered. Participants can earn up […]

BVA National President Joseph D. McNeil, Sr. will orally present BVA’s current legislative priorities at a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs. The hearing, which will also include presentations by a handful of other Veterans Service Organizations, is scheduled for 10:00am on Thursday, March 8, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Members of the BVA Board of Directors will also visit Congressional offices in the days leading up to […]

This past week, BVA’s VetTech team treated webinar participants to an informative session presented by Florida Vision Technology’s Lesa Kreschmer and Jose Cintron. The two provided an overview of the Envision glasses, the new Hable One, and other low vision devices. The focus of VetTech this coming Wednesday, January 25, at 2:00pm Eastern Time will include both a presentation as well as a question- and-answer period on Eschenbach Optik of America’s magnifiers, lighting solutions, and […]

A partnership between VA and Prudential Financial, Outreach, Transition, and Economic Development (OTED) is offering a virtual “Wellness Wednesday Financial Education” series to transitioning service members, veterans, spouses, other family members, and caregivers. The series consists of two programs: first, a wealth of financial literacy information and resources on an online website portal, and second, educational sessions on the third Wednesday of every month that focus on topics such as purchasing a home, paying for […]

A certificate that enables special features when completing forms in Adobe Reader expires this month. VA staff, Veterans Service Organizations, and veterans themselves rely on Adobe forms to work and apply for benefits. VA’s Office of Information and Technology is working on replacing certificates and asks that users download a fresh version of a PDF form directly from the appropriate VA webpage rather than using an older version saved locally on a computer or network […]