Paralyzed Veterans Needs Your Vote to Win $250,000 Grant From Pepsi Refresh Project

/PRNewswire/ -- Beginning September 1, Paralyzed Veterans of America will begin competing for a $250,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Grant funds will be used to support Paralyzed Veterans of America's adaptive sports and recreation programs. Each month, Pepsi selects groups working to "refresh the world" to compete for grants to fund their programs, and then invites the public to vote online for the winners.

Paralyzed Veterans of America will use the grant funds to sponsor 50 newly injured or wounded veterans to participate in adaptive sports and recreation programs, including the National Veterans Wheelchair Games--the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world; support 33 adaptive sports tournaments around the country, in such activities as bass fishing, trapshooting, bowling and billiards; and support five adaptive sports instructional clinics to train paralyzed veterans in adaptive sports.

"Sports and recreation are an integral part of rehabilitation for our injured and disabled veterans," said Andy Krieger, director of sports and recreation at Paralyzed Veterans of America. "Competition, camaraderie and achieving new goals from a wheelchair have immeasurable long-term health and fitness benefits."

Voters may vote once a day through September 30. To cast your vote for Paralyzed Veterans of America, go to http://www.refresheverything.com/paralyzedveterans. Voters may also cast their vote via mobile text message* by texting 102657 to 73774. (*Please note that standard text messaging rates may apply.)

Sixty-four 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 they need to thrive. (www.pva.org).

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Harley-Davidson Foundation Presents $1 Million Grant to Disabled American Veterans

/PRNewswire/ -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) yesterday announced the awarding of a second $1 million grant from the Harley-Davidson Foundation, Inc. to the non-profit organization, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Harley-Davidson's relationship with the DAV dates to 2006, when the Harley-Davidson Foundation made a prior $1 million grant to the organization. The new grant announced yesterday at the DAV National Convention in Atlanta is designated for continued funding of the DAV's Mobile Service Office (MSO) program over the next four years.

"We are proud to continue our relationship with the DAV and help the organization support veterans of all generations," said Gail Lione, President, Harley-Davidson Foundation. "Veterans have always been important members of the Harley-Davidson family and partnering with the DAV is an ideal way to support them and recognize their contributions to our country."

The DAV MSO program increases veterans' accessibility to benefits by literally putting service offices on the road. Since 2007, this program sponsored by Harley-Davidson -- dubbed Harley's Heroes® -- has visited thousands of sites across the United States, providing important counseling and assistance to help tens of thousands of veterans secure the benefits to which they are entitled from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies.

"Harley-Davidson not only represents freedom and patriotism, the Company backs up its brand and generously supports those brave men and women whose sacrifices protect our nation," said DAV National Adjutant/CEO Arthur H. Wilson. "Through the support of the Harley-Davidson Foundation, DAV representatives have visited nearly 300 dealerships across the nation on the Harley's Heroes tour, delivering free benefits assistance to disabled veterans and their families through our Mobile Service Office program. It's hard to put into words just how much the Harley's Heroes program has meant to thousands of sick and wounded heroes."

Founded in 1920 by disabled veterans returning from World War I, the DAV has continually represented the unique interests of the men and women who bear the wounds and scars of war. Through their network of 110 National Service Offices, 10 mobile service offices, and Transition Service Officers at more than 100 military installations, the 1.2 million member DAV builds better lives for all America's disabled veterans and their families. In 2009, DAV represented nearly a quarter of a million veterans and their families in their claims for VA benefits, obtaining for them nearly $4.5 billion in new and retroactive benefits.

To learn more about Harley-Davidson's support of veterans, visit, www.harley-davidson.com, including the "Salute to Veterans" page.

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Wounded Veterans to Get Laptop Computers

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three hundred soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan will soon receive specially-adapted laptop computers, thanks to military support nonprofit Soldiers' Angels and The San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF). The laptops will be funded through SAAF's Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment (TRIAD), which has awarded Soldiers' Angels a $210,000 grant to fund Project Valour-IT in the San Antonio area.

The grant is expected to purchase at least 300 laptops, which will be distributed as gifts to wounded veterans undergoing treatment at San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) or living in the surrounding area. The computers will be used for communication, post-military employment preparation and physical and occupational therapy, and will be fitted with adaptive technology from the Department of Defense for severely injured users, including voice-control. As one of the largest treatment facilities for wounded veterans in America, BAMC is a major hub for Project Valour-IT and Soldiers' Angels works closely with caseworkers there to identify recovering service members in need of a laptop.

Wounded veteran and Valour-IT co-creator Chuck Ziegenfuss knows firsthand the power of Valour-IT. He reports that using a voice-controlled laptop while he recovered was "the first time I felt whole since I'd woken up wounded."

This is the third SAAF/TRIAD grant for Soldiers' Angels, forming a growing bond between the two organizations and furthering the reach of Project Valour-IT, which has already distributed 3,000 laptops nationwide. "With the money from this grant we will be able to touch many more heroes who need Valour-IT Laptops," says Soldiers' Angels Veterans Support Team leader, Twyla Choate. "Soldiers' Angels is thrilled to once again be given the opportunity to help those who have done so much for us."

About SAAF: The San Antonio Area Foundation aspires to significantly enhance the quality of life of our community by providing outstanding service to donors, producing significant asset growth, strengthening community collaboration and managing an exemplary grants program. A publicly supported philanthropic institution, the San Antonio Area Foundation is governed by a board of private citizens chosen for their knowledge of and involvement in the community. For over 44 years, it has successfully administered funds from individuals, agencies, corporations and others who contribute or bequeath assets for the betterment of the community. For more information, visit www.saafdn.org.

About Soldiers' Angels: Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 615-676-0239. Tax ID# 20-0583415

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