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Joe McNeil Encourages Fellow Veterans to Get Vaccinated in Recently Released PSA

Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) National Vice President Joe McNeil of Columbus, Georgia is one of nine Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representatives featured in a 4-minute bipartisan Public Service Announcement produced by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. The video, released earlier today, urges veterans to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine through their local VA facility as soon as it is available to them. Joe is the first veteran to appear and speak in the production, revealing […]

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Florida BVA Member to Address April 28 Live Audience

Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) Florida Regional Group Vice President Orlando Bembry will speak to a virtual Facebook Live audience on Wednesday, April 28, to detail how the OrCam MyEye recently helped him improve his quality of life. The presentation will include highlights of Orlando’s military journey, his vision loss journey, and how he has utilized the OrCam technology in daily activities to remain active, self-reliant, and goal-oriented. Scheduled for 3-4pm ET, the session will also emphasize […]

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Blinded Veterans, BVA Spotlighted in National Feature

Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) members Donald Overton, Thomas Miller, and Timothy Hornik each contributed to the framework of an online feature story distributed late Friday by Zenger News. The article, authored by independent journalist Carlin Becker, was prompted by an April 12 public announcement from former Navy Seal and now Representative Daniel Crenshaw (R-TX-2) that he had undergone an emergency procedure to address a retinal detachment in his one remaining eye earlier this month. The […]

BVA Lends Support to Legislation Affecting Camp Lejeune Victims

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has joined 11 other Military and Veterans Service Organizations in supporting the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2021 (H.R. 2192) in a recent letter to Representative Matthew Cartwright (D-PA-8), sponsor of the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. North Carolina legislation limiting the claims window for injuries related to the contaminated water supply at Camp Lejeune has negatively impacted military families. H.R. 2192 will correct the injustices that the earlier […]

BVA Joins COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative as Founding Member

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA ) this week became a founding member of the COVID-19 Community Corps, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control to encourage Americans to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. The recently launched program at a now pivotal point in the crisis relies on trusted community leaders and organizational messengers such as BVA to share science-based information regarding the safety and efficacy […]

VA Extends Debt Relief for Veterans

VA is extending debt relief for veterans through September 30, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VA will suspend collection of all veteran benefit overpayments incurred between April 6, 2020, and September 30, 2021. No adverse actions or collection attempts will occur during this suspension period. Additionally, all copayments for medical care and pharmacy services incurred from April 6, 2020, through September 30, 2021, will be cancelled, along with any fees or interest. Any payments for this time period […]

Film Festival Program for Blind Filmmakers Hosts Upcoming Virtual Workshop Series

An exciting international virtual workshop leading up to the “blindDance Film Festival” next fall kicks off this Wednesday, March 31, at 2:00pm EDT for blind and visually impaired persons interested in filmmaking. The series, entitled “Filmmaking and Storytelling,” is hosted by Morton Bonde, legally blind Senior Art Director of the Lego Group. The overriding theme of the workshops held throughout the next eight months addresses the question, “Can you make films if you are blind?” […]

BVA Lauds Passage, Signing of Bill Expanding Access to COVID-19 Vaccine

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) is pleased to recognize the signing into law earlier today of the “Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all Veterans and Every Spouse Act” (SAVE LIVES Act), H.R. 1276, by President Joe Biden. The bipartisan legislation, which passed the House and Senate unanimously, significantly expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to veterans and their families under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It provides the VA Secretary with additional authority […]

BVA Receives Bosma 2021 Community Partner Award

The Blinded Veterans Association is the recipient of this year’s Bosma Community Partner Award for its contributions to the blind community of Indiana. Based in Indianapolis for more than 100 years, Bosma is a nonprofit organization that provides training and employment for the blind and visually impaired. The honor was presented at the annual Thomas C. Hasbrook Award Event hosted by the Bosma Visionary Opportunities Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the organization. Coincidentally, Hasbrook was […]

Telephone Technology Available to Blinded Veterans with Hearing Loss

Some 3 million veterans, including a sizable number of  blinded veterans, are experiencing hearing loss from their time in the service and are receiving VA benefits from such a loss. The fastest growing post-war disability among veterans is, in fact, hearing loss and tinnitus. Accordingly, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established ways to help veterans communicate more effectively over the telephone. For many, current devices such as hearing aids do not provide adequate assistance […]