BVA National President Paul Mimms will present the Association’s legislative priorities for the current fiscal year in a joint session of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, March 6.  The annual hearing, convening at 10:00am Eastern Time in Room SD-G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, will be conducted in panel format with nine other Veterans Service Organizations seated together with BVA, including Paralyzed Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project, National […]

BVA is pleased to announce the elections for Directors of Districts 2 and 4. As outlined in Article 6 of the BVA National Bylaws, these crucial roles represent the voices and needs of members residing in their respective districts. Who can run?  Membership Matters: You must be a BVA member residing within the territorial boundaries of District 2 or District 4. Passion and Commitment: You are passionate about advocating for blind and low vision veterans with a commitment […]

Leonard J. Sperrazza, one of the approximately 100 attendees at the March 28, 1945, meeting of World War II blinded veterans at Avon Old Farms Army Convalescent Hospital, passed away on January 18, 2024 in Lampasas, Texas. He was born on November 29, 1924.  The historic meeting for which Leonard was best known in BVA circles was the founding of the Blinded Veterans Association at the Connecticut facility that housed, rehabilitated, and trained recently returning […]

Women Veterans Group (WVG) Chair Yoneka Trent has announced that the group’s inaugural 2024 meeting via Zoom will be held next Thursday, January 25.  The theme of the meeting is “A Valentine’s Value of Self-Care,” which includes a self-indulging door prize! All women BVA members are invited and strongly encouraged to attend the 6:00pm Eastern Time start. Participation in past WVG meetings or activities is not a prerequisite for attendance. Joining information and a direct […]

Join BVA’s VetTech team on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 2:00pm, as we welcome Michelle Mendez, National Sales Director for OrCam. Michelle will present the company’s newest feature, “What’s in Front of Me” during the Weekly Wednesday Webinar. The feature has been designed for the OrCam MyEye Pro, which enables individuals to recognize objects and subsequently ask OrCam for additional information about the objects.  “What’s in Front of Me” requires that the MyEye Pro be […]

BVA members and their families throughout the country are invited to join and participate in a free virtual symposium with the theme “Understanding the Unique Needs of Homeless Veterans.” The online event, available through the Webex platform, is scheduled for next Thursday, January 25, from 1:00-3:00pm Eastern Time. Interested parties can also join the meeting via mobile device and landline telephone.  The symposium’s purpose is to educate, inform, and empower veterans, service members, family members, […]

VA is partnering with the National Institutes of Health in a first of its kind collaborative study in Bethesda, Maryland, to better understand Gulf War illness (GWI). The study, entitled Project IN-DEPTH, seeks to create new biomarkers for more accurate diagnosis, explain the biological mechanisms that drive chronic symptoms, and lay the groundwork for better treatments of GWI, which is a complex, poorly understood illness.   GWI has affected about a third of veterans deployed […]

Donald, a golden lab, looking straight at the camera. He is wearing his harness and has a little US flag-printed bow tie around his neck. New to BVA Happenings in 2024, the Ambassadog Scoop Series features guide dogs that have become significant in the lives of Association members and their families. The series offers news, tips, and guidance for dog handlers and others who spend time in the company of guide dogs.  Teresa Galgano’s Donald […]

The cover of the book “Grandpa’s White Cane.” The cover depicts a cartoon drawing of a man with a white cane walking down a sidewalk surrounded by green grass and trees. The audiobook version of Grandpa’s White Cane, by Jim Hoxie and Joanna Jones with cartoonist and former reporter Alex Portal as Illustrator, is now available through Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD), a program of the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and […]

Dive into the opportunities offered by BVA’s Kathern F. Gruber Scholarships – a chance like no other for spouses, dependent children, and grandchildren of blind and low vision veterans seeking support for their higher education tuition. Applications for the 2024-25 academic year are due April 30 for the five awards valued at $2,000 each. The scholarships can be a valuable help to students and their families.  The application process is straightforward with applicants evaluated on […]