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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

As we close out a busy and productive year at the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), our Government Relations Team has secured a legislative victory pertaining to a longstanding issue that has plagued our military health care system for generations—ocular trauma care and care for vision loss due to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). A section in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), Section 721, mandates the establishment of no fewer than […]

Thanksgiving Greetings, Blinded Veterans Association Members and Friends! Like many of you, I have often felt overwhelmed by the challenges and hardships that have confronted us the past two years during this unprecedented worldwide pandemic. As a way of lifting that burden somewhat, I find myself reflecting on the things in life for which I personally feel profound gratitude, especially as we approach the holiday season and this week as we gather around our tables […]

On this Veterans Day, we honor and remember the men and women who have worn the uniform of our great nation, Americans who at critical moments stepped forward and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and laws against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Veterans Day is a vitally significant day. It is a day to speak up for those who put their lives on the line for their fellow Americans – a […]

BVA member, U.S. Coast Guard veteran, and law enforcement veteran Dave Barrett of Haymarket, Virginia (Mid-Atlantic Regional Group) was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) in 2015. His grandfather had RP, so the diagnosis was not a total surprise to him. Even so, Dave has faced all of the same challenges as he adjusts to vision loss. Dave continues to work at his federal government civilian day job with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the […]

Today, World Sight Day 2021, please consider helping the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) urge members of Congress to join the Congressional Vision Caucus (CVC). The CVC is a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of Representatives and Senators who recognize the need to strengthen policies around vision and eye health services. Over the years, the membership of the Caucus has dwindled, leaving the vision and eye community with fewer champions on vision and eye health. With more than […]

The nonprofit Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), founded in 1945, is the only congressionally chartered Veterans Service Organization exclusively dedicated to serving America’s blinded and visually impaired veterans. BVA has yet again contacted members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs’ handling of the website accessibility reporting requirements set forth in Public Law No. 116-213 (12/04/2020). The mandated report, which was due August 31, was to identify websites, files, and applications […]