FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2009

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Matthew Scherbel at 202.857.2204
David Uchic at 202.368.7633
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Golf Open Raises Money to Help Paralyzed Veterans Get Good Jobs and Careers

WASHINGTON, DC— Paralyzed veterans, service members from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Fort Belvoir and leaders from business, government and the armed services—golf enthusiasts all—took to the fairways of Belle Haven Country Club today to raise money for an innovative program that’s helping veterans with disabilities get good jobs and careers in a very tough economy.

“It’s wonderful to see so many leaders and veterans take to the greens for a great cause—Paralyzed Veterans of America and our program that’s helping heroes with disabilities get good jobs and develop careers in a very tough economy,” said Randy L. Pleva, Sr. (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.), national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans). Attendees included Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; General Peter W. Chiarelli, vice chief of staff, U.S. Army; MG Dan Mongeon, USA (Ret.), president & CEO, Agility Defense & Government Services; U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer; and, Homer S. Townsend, Jr. (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.), national executive director, Paralyzed Veterans. An adaptive golf cart enabled paralyzed golfers to fully take part.

Thanks to Agility Defense & Government Services (Agility DGS), 100 percent of event proceeds went directly to Paralyzed Veterans’ vocational rehabilitation program. The innovative program equips veterans with disabilities with the tools they need to reenter the job market following lifealtering injuries—while matching them with businesses and organizations with vacant positions.

The national unemployment rate for veterans with severe disabilities has been estimated to be more than 85 percent. Paralyzed Veterans’ program aims to make this grim statistic a thing of the past by helping to unleash the untapped talent and potential of this often underutilized part of our workforce.

Since its inception in 2007, Paralyzed Veterans’ vocational rehabilitation program has helped empower hundred of veterans with disabilities—many of whom are veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In fact, two of our program graduates are earning more than $100,000 annually. We have developed working relationships with employers across the nation—and we look forward to many more joining this inspirational effort. Paralyzed Veterans has opened three vocational rehabilitation centers: in San Antonio, TX; St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN; and Richmond, VA.

ENDS

Sixty-three years ago, Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a band of spinal cord injured service members who returned home from World War II to a grateful nation, but also to a world with few solutions to the challenges they faced. These veterans from the “Greatest Generation” made a decision not just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society. They created an organization dedicated to veterans’ service, medical research and civil rights for people with disabilities. And for more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans of America and its 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all veterans and people with disabilities, and their families, have everything the y need to thrive. (www.pva.org)