Minnesota Paralyzed Veterans of America

Advocacy/Legislative: MNPVA regularly serves on multiple planning boards as an ADA expert in the community, including parks, recreation, and building projects. This link allows us to advocate for accessibility and adaptive equipment inclusion criteria during planning phases. Some boards and task forces MNPVA serves with include Minnesota State Council on Disability (MSCOD), Metropolitan Parks and Open Spaces Commission, Big Island Restoration, and the Veterans Memorial Greenway project. Additionally, MNPVA serves regularly as a resource to individuals and businesses who request ADA and accessibility information. Legislatively`, we participated in US and State meetings with legislators to discuss policy related to our mission. COVID restrictions forced us to adapt, holding many of these meetings virtually. A significant task force MNPVA continues to serve on is our state, "Commander's Task Force," a group of congressionally chartered veterans service organizations. The president for MNPVA served as Chairman for this task force, and the legislative and advocacy team belonged as members. Additionally, MNPVA maintains working relationships with many other Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) and participates in groups such as Military Action Group (MAG), United Veterans Legislative Council (UVLC), and Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA). We join others to learn, collaborate, and advocate for many issues affecting veterans and their families through this connection.

Peer Mentoring: During the transition into the new PVA Peer Mentoring Program, our chapter continued to serve our members through the complex challenges confronting those with spinal cord injuries or disease. The new program will match veterans with recent injuries or diagnoses with trained peer mentors. We are excited to implement this comprehensively.

Membership: MNPVA serves veterans who have a spinal cord injury or disease and were discharged under other than dishonorable conditions. We welcome new members meeting those qualifications. For others, we continually seek volunteers and associate members for those who have a heart for our mission. At the end of FY20-21, the MNPVA membership number roster contained 338 members.

Sports and Recreation: Another primary mission for MNPVA is to encourage and assist members in being as active as possible, including participation in sports, events, and outings. Even amidst COVID restrictions, MNPVA still afforded many opportunities to our veterans through virtual and in-person events, when safety allowed. We assisted several athletes to compete in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and supported those who participated virtually from home. MNPVA successfully and safely held the annual MNPVA Brainerd Area Fun Shoot. Throughout the year, the chapter hosted regular bowling groups. MNPVA co-sponsored, with the Iowa chapter, and participated in the yearly ELY Fishing event. MNPVA sent several people to take part in an annual deer hunting event in northern Minnesota in the fall. In addition, our chapter provides opportunities for our members to attend professional sporting events such as baseball, football, and hockey through our annual season ticket program. MNPVA also played a role in multiple "drive-by" parades to honor veterans and patients/residents at the Minneapolis VA and Minneapolis VA Home.

Communication and Assistance: A vital service performed by MNPVA includes keeping our members informed of items like new opportunities, legislative and policy changes, and information relating to research. The chapter sent out at least six newsletters and additional mailings as needed. COVID restrictions required that office hours be reduced; however, the chapter continually connected with our members by working remotely. MNPVA regularly receives calls requesting information or assistance. Despite the challenging work situation, MNPVA continued serving members by pursuing resources, sharing knowledge, and assisting with adaptive equipment and emergency help when alternative funding was unavailable.

Fundraising: Despite the challenges of COVID, our chapter maintained an effective fundraising program, including virtual methods and in-person events. We successfully and safely held the annual MNPVA Brainerd Area Fun Shoot, drawing a large crowd to the event. MNPVA does not use telemarketing but instead chooses to reach people via giving networks such as AmazonSmile and GiveMN, social media, in-person, and events. We continue to think out of the box to reach those interested in helping our cause.

We rely heavily on the generosity of our donors to help us meet our mission.