VA Photos of the Week – August 23, 2019

Marana High School football team hosted an ice cream social hour at the Southwestern Blind Rehabilitation Center at the Tucson VA. Veterans, staff, and the football team had a great time! Photo via Southern Arizona VA Health Care System.

Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) Central Office staff packing Veteran Athlete bags for the upcoming National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament and National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic. Each year, proceeds from the canteen allow VCS to give bags filled with various items to the participating Veteran Athletes at the Rehabilitation Events. Photo by Chelsea Anderson-McCadney, Public Relations Specialist at the Veterans Canteen Service.

The Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System, along with Veterans groups, volunteers, and city leaders, hosted the Fayetteville Homeless Stand Down at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. The event connected homeless Veterans with community services and resources. Photo by Brad Garner, Visual Information Specialist at Fayetteville VA.

When Carson Moore was determining a Boy Scouts of America project to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, he remembered the stories of how much his grandfather, Reeder Pettus, enjoyed visiting the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Nashville campus. Those stories developed Moore’s desire to volunteer at the Nashville VA. That desire also led him to complete a two-month project of refurbishing the Nashville VA Center Garden with new wooden benches and planters for his Eagle Scout project. Photo via Nashville VA.

Marine Veteran Lance Knadler has enjoyed gaming on Microsoft Xbox for 15 years, often playing Destiny and Destiny 2. However, he has been unable to play since a car accident left his legs paralyzed, along with limited mobility in his hands. The technology team at Richmond VA Medical Center used Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller system as the basis for a custom acrylic desktop for Knadler’s motorized wheelchair. They erected over-sized joysticks, an oral bite switch, and buttons positioned for his elbows to push, allowing him the opportunity to game again. Knadler said he is excited to get the opportunity to play multiplayer games again with his nine-year-old daughter. Photo via Richmond VA.