Tag Archives: veterans

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2013

Because We Are EQUAL to the Task

Held each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. The theme for 2013 is “Because We Are EQUAL to the Task.”

NDEAM’s roots go back to 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” In 1962, the word “physically” was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to “National Disability Employment Awareness Month.” Upon its establishment in 2001, ODEP assumed responsibility for NDEAM and has worked to expand its reach and scope ever since.

Heroes Remembered: The 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice

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Saturday, July 27, 2013 – 00:00

Our “Heroes Remembered” event will honor and recognize all Korean War Veterans on the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Armistice on the National Mall at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, DC. The event start time is to be determined. Please continue to check back on this site, as additional information will be provided. To receive an official invitation, please provide your mailing address by clicking HERE.

National Korean War Veterans Memorial

Washington, DC

United States

See map: Google Maps

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

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.

Discover the National Veterans Wheelchair Games

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The National Veterans Wheelchair Games, copresented annually by Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Department of Veterans Affairs(VA), allows veterans with disabilities to rediscover their strength and potential through athletic competition with peers. The Games are the largest annual wheelchair-sporting event in the world, with hundreds of participants and thousands of volunteers attending, making planning and preparation a year-long process.

The 33rd Wheelchair Games will be held July 13–18, 2013, in Tampa, FL. The Tampa Convention Center met all of the criteria for hosting the Games, which included availability of a very large, open space suitable for the Sports, Recreation and Fitness Expo and availability of appropriate venues around the city for the various competitions, including softball, basketball, track and field and trapshooting. Events will take place at the riverwalk, in parks, the host hotel, the zoo, a local high school and at the Convention Center, where competitions, ceremonies and the Expo will be held.

At the Expo corporate and nonprofit organizations showcase their brand and engage with hundreds of wheelchair athletes, coaches, family members, health-care providers and rehabilitation professionals. Veterans can learn about a variety of health-care products and services and organizations that offer assistance or opportunities.

Local Host Coordinator (LOC) and VA Recreation Therapist Jeanene LeSure said the LOC just “recently secured all of our venues for the various sporting events and ceremonies. Our entire LOC is complete; we have a lot of dedicated VA employees as well as chapter members from the Paralyzed Veterans Florida Gulf Coast serving on several committees.”

LeSure is responsible for managing the LOC and its nonstop work to have everything ready for the Games in 2013. “We’re almost at the halfway point; we’ve been working for about a year now,” she said.

Without the generous and selfless support of sponsors, many of which have been supporting the Games for upward of 20, 25 and 30 years, the Games could not be the annual success that it is. Sponsor and exhibitor recruitment is also a year-round process, conducted by Paralyzed Veterans corporate marketing team as well as the LOC.

“Simply put, our sponsors are the lifeblood to ensuring each year that we have the appropriate means to make the NVWG a great success,” said Pablo Sosa, associate director, Corporate & Cause Marketing. “Through our sponsors’ generous support, Paralyzed Veterans is helping improve the lives and well-being of these most deserving men and women.”

Back in Tampa, logistics take priority. Recently the LOC completed its warehouse inventory. “We went through about 17 53-foot UPS trucks full of equipment [for the sporting events]. We counted everything and took note of what we needed in order to ensure we have everything we need for the Games,” LeSure added.

Even with several accomplishments under its belt, the LOC still has a lot of work to do in order to make the Games a success. Currently, the LOC is working out the “finer details” of the Games, including finalizing the event schedule, ensuring that it has the necessary equipment for the various sporting events and ensuring that the venues are capable of holding the planned sports.

“In that area, the Tampa area has an advantage because many of the events that we are hosting at the Games are already hosted locally here in Tampa. So many of our venues are already familiar with the rules and regulations of these sports, making the whole process a lot easier for everyone,” LeSure said.

Tom Brown, Paralyzed Veterans’ consultant and program manager for the Games, noted, “The LOC in Tampa has been extremely cooperative and energetic. They are eager to ensure that the 33rd NVWG is the best ever. We all share the same goal, that of making sure the veterans have an excellent, life-changing experience.”

In the months ahead, LeSure and the LOC will be busy trying to register the 2,500-3,000 volunteers necessary to work the Wheelchair Games. For those interested, there will be an online signup that will open in January 2013. This registration period will last until June.

Thirty-two years ago, the Wheelchair Games started out as a rehabilitation event, an extension of therapy in the community to help our nation’s wounded heroes know that disabled does not mean unable.

“The Games have never lost that focus and have been introducing veterans to opportunities in sports and recreation that they never dreamed possible. For many of our veterans, the Games are truly life changing,” Brown said. “We make it our priority to ensure that each veteran has a truly memorable and rewarding experience.”

Learn more about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games