Tag Archives: awareness

Wheelchair Accessible Van Conversion Options New England Mobility Center

Wheelchair Accessible Van Conversion Options

We know that each individual person has their own personal desires and requirements in a wheelchair accessible van. At VMi New England Mobility Center, we offer a variety of conversion options in order to best fit your individual needs. Whether you need hand controls or an under vehicle lift (UVL), our highly trained Mobility Center Consultants are here to listen to your needs, educate you on the safest/best products available, and deliver the highest quality service in the vehicle modification industry.

VMi New England Mobility Center has access to hundreds of new and used wheelchair accessible vans ready for immediate delivery. We carry everything from minivans, to full-size vans, to commercial paratransit vans and ambulette vans, in Dodge, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Buick, Toyota, Honda, and Ford models. Our large inventory and unmatched mobility facility enables our customers to get the wheelchair accessible van they want, when they want it.

If you want to learn more about our wheelchair accessible van conversion options, contact us for a free in house consultation.

Paralyzed Veterans Racing Team: Ready for 2013

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Dedicated to a season of continued growth in membership and educational efforts as well as abundant handcycle racing success, theParalyzed Veterans of America racing team is eager for the 2013 season to begin.

For the first time, a winter training camp will be held prior to the start of the racing season. A select group of members will meet for a week of twice daily stamina-building rides, strategy sessions and team bonding in Tampa, FL, before continuing on to the Melbourne Marathon to be held February 3, 2013, in Melbourne, FL.

Racing team coordinator Jody Shiflett expects the training camp to propel the team forward into the new season and plans to make the camp an annual event.

“Work and other personal obligations make training and racing a different priority for each individual,” Shiflett says. “But at this camp, it will be the focus for everyone.”

Shiflett is quick to point out that not all members can race at every event. About 30 times yearly, Paralyzed Veterans has members at different races around the United States. Because of time and financial constraints, most members primarily attend races near their homes. Only two or three times yearly will the entire team race together.

Paralyzed Veterans Racing experienced more than 50 percent membership growth in 2012 and now has a roster of 130 members. Shiflett contributes the growth rate to the hard work of many team members who volunteer their time to hold educational clinics and workshops, and do recruiting, fund raising and bike repair.

Though volunteering is common among team members, certain members stand out in this area. To acknowledge these individuals, their dedication and their efforts above and beyond the call of duty, Shiflett created the “A” Team, initially appointing the first 12 members himself. However, the following year Jody turned voting over to the team and made the position peer elected.

Paralyzed Veterans underwrites a small portion of team members’ travel expenses to attend racing events. “A” team members, in recognition of their volunteer work, are sometimes eligible for a few extra dollars to offset some of their out-of-pocket expenses. Shiflett states that the few extra dollars awarded the “A” team is only a token and comes nowhere near off-setting the personal investment these members have put forth.

The 2013 “A” Team members are:

Joseph Beimfohr
Alfredo De Los Santos
Will Groulx
Geoff Hopkins
Holly Koester
Carlos Moleda
Robert Puckett III
Matthew J. Robinson
Jeff Snover
David Swaim
Scott Sweet
Keith Winchell

Major races for the 2013 season include competitions in Greenville, SC; Anchorage, AK; and the cycling national championships in Chattanooga, TN. The complete racing schedule is available on the Paralyzed Veterans website at this link.

2013 National Veterans Wheelchair Games Expo to Feature More than 75 Exhibitors

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More than 600 athletes and thousands of visitors will gather in Tampa on July 13, 2013, for the Disabled Sports, Recreation and Fitness Exposition (Expo) — the official kickoff to the 33rd National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The event will take place at the Tampa Convention Center, East Hall from 9 AM to 4 PM.

This year’s Expo will feature more than 75 exhibitors, including booths held by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Paralyzed Veterans of America, featuring Paralyzed Veterans’ programs like Wheels Helping Warriors and Operation PAVE. Some longtime private sector supporters of the games, including Invacare Corporation, Iron Bow Technologies and UPS, also will have booths at the games, said Elizabeth Aulwes, program manager for corporate and cause marketing at Paralyzed Veterans.

This year’s Expo also will include some new corporate faces, including Mountain Trike, a United Kingdom-based all-terrain wheelchair company, and Bioderm Inc./Men’s Liberty, a provider of external men’s catheters, Aulwes said.

“We always try to bring in new exhibitors who have exciting services to offer,” Aulwes said. “The Expo presents the opportunity to check out new products and services that serve those in the disability community.”

Kelly Barry, senior marketing manager for Hollister Continence Care, a returning exhibitor at the Expo, expressed the company’s continued support for Paralyzed Veterans and the Games.

“Hollister Continence Care shares Paralyzed Veterans of America’s ongoing commitment to care and to help veterans live the full, rewarding lives they deserve,” Barry said.

Aulwes said the Games Expo is unique in that it provides an opportunity for exhibitors to reach out to disabled veterans in a way no other Expo provides, allowing companies to network with the VA and work directly with the veteran community.

But the value of the Expo extends beyond just the marketing aspects; it also serves as a central gathering place for veterans, exhibitors and others to reconnect with old friends, Aulwes added. Many of the returning exhibitors who have participated in the games over the past 30 years have built friendships with the athletes, so it’s a great time for them to reconnect as well, Aulwes added.

“The Expo is always the central gathering point for the wheelchair games on that day,” she said. “Everyone spends the majority of the day there to reconnect with old friends; it’s almost like a big reunion.”

Read about featured exhibitors at the 2013 Expo

Find information, results, and more from the 33rd NVWG

Hertz Supports Paralyzed Veterans of America Through the PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic and Hertz for Heroes Campaign

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The Hertz Company raised $16,140 to support Paralyzed Veterans of America‘s Mission: ABLE campaign over the July fourth holiday weekend as part of the PGA Tour Greenbrier Classic and the Hertz for Heroes initiative.

“These funds are critical to help maintain the programs that help support paralyzed veterans and their families to live full and successful lives,” said David Zurfluh, member and National Vice President of Paralyzed Veterans. “Again, many thanks to Hertz for extending a helping hand to our disabled veterans this July 4th weekend.”

The initiative offered a charitable contribution to Paralyzed Veterans: $10 for every birdie, $50 for every eagle and $500 for every hole-in-one recorded during the 2013 Greenbrier Classic by PGA Tour professionals, of up to $20,000 through Sunday.

Greenbrier Classic professional golfers scored 1,494 birdies, 14 eagles and 1 hole-in-one, resulting in the $16,140 total donation from Hertz for Heroes.

“Events like these are a great way for us to tell our story and carry on the important work we do,” Zurfluh said. “This wouldn’t be possible without companies like Hertz Corporation.”

The Hertz for Heroes project was launched by Hertz employees with military backgrounds in 2011, when the company donated 40,000 free weekend rentals to military personnel returning home from overseas. The company has since joined the White House’s veterans hiring initiative and has launched a military hiring portal that enables veterans and their family members to view and apply for available Hertz jobs. To date, the company has hired more than 300 veterans.

“We are grateful for the dollars raised and the support of Hertz for Heroes,” Zurfluh said.

Learn more about Paralyzed Veterans of America

New Operation PAVE Tampa Office Will Help Veterans Find New Careers

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Paralyzed Veterans of America’s Operation PAVE Provides Free Training, Education, Job Counseling & Placement Assistance

View photos from Operation PAVE Tampa Opening

A national vocational program that equips veterans with job skills and helps them find employment opened its Florida office Friday, July 12, 2013, at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

Paralyzed Veterans of America’s Operation PAVE (Paving Access for Veterans Employment), a vocational assistance program helps all veterans find jobs and navigate their employment, education and benefits options.

The Tampa office is the seventh PAVE center opened by Paralyzed Veterans of America, which operates offices at VA facilities in San Antonio, Long Beach, Minneapolis, Richmond, Boston and Augusta, GA. The organization plans to open an eighth center in Chicago next year.

“It’s unacceptable that so many of our nation’s veterans who have served and sacrificed for our freedoms are struggling to find jobs,” said Bill Lawson, National President of Paralyzed Veterans of America, who officially opened the Tampa office. “Through Operation PAVE, we hope to reach these veterans, place them with employers who are looking to hire veterans and cut the unemployment rate among veterans.”

Joining Lawson at the grand opening was Rich Brooks, President of Agility Defense & Government Services Inc., the private sector partner that raised the money to fund the Tampa PAVE center.

“We owe a great debt to those who have served our country. We need to make sure they get every chance to find and thrive in productive, meaningful careers,” Brooks said. “I’m confident that employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and across Florida will step up and look to this center for help in hiring veterans. They understand the value veterans bring to the workplace.”

Representative Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, applauded PAVE’s public-private partnership as a much-needed new resource to help veterans find meaningful careers.

“The PAVE program is a fine example of how the private sector and government are working together to give our nation’s wounded heroes a better chance at achieving the American dream.”

Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, also commended PAVE’s collaborative efforts and innovative supported employment model.

“I applaud the partnership between the Paralyzed Veterans of America and James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and welcome Operation PAVE to the Tampa Bay area. I am confident that through this program, many of Florida’s veterans will obtain the support they need to find jobs and pursue education opportunities, paving a better and brighter future.”

Congresswoman Kathy Castor of Florida’s 14th district and Congressional Representative for the Haley VA Medical Center welcomed PAVE as a valuable new resource for service members in the 14th district and across Florida.

“The launching of the Operation PAVE Tampa office will provide a valuable resource to Florida veterans who are returning home. Because PAVE is funded completely by private donations, the program will be provided free of charge to Florida Veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much for their country.”

Florida is home to the country’s third-largest veterans population and the third-largest number of disabled veterans, according to the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs. The state is expected to experience a large influx of veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq as those veterans resettle, move into the civilian workforce or retire.

Anthony Hopkins, an Air Force veteran living in the Tampa area, also attended the center opening. He is going through the PAVE program and currently working with Tampa PAVE counselor Susan Deguzman.

“Working with Susan and the PAVE program has really helped with the transition from my military career to the civilian world,” said Hopkins, a 23 year Air Force veteran. “I highly recommend that any veteran seeking employment or looking for assistance with where to start should contact their closest PAVE program center – they are truly there to help.

Operation PAVE provides free one-on-one employment assistance, benefits counseling and support to any veteran and his/her family. The program also helps employers who are committed to hiring veterans.

Tampa’s Operation PAVE office is part of a national network built by Paralyzed Veterans through an innovative public-private partnership. For more information about Operation PAVE, visit www.operationpave.org.

Since 2007, 1,500 veterans have received services through the PAVE program, and 700+ companies and organizations in the PAVE Employer Network have committed to hiring a PAVE client.