Fundraising
The support of a generous community allows us to carry out our mission. Part of our budgeting process involves working to bring in income to support all our various initiatives. Right now, our campaign calendar includes:
Buckeye Wheelchair Games Sponsorships
Bass Fishing Tournament Sponsorships
Golf Outing Sponsorships
Billiards Tournament Sponsorships
Member Holiday Gift Card Campaign
We welcome gifts of any size at any time during the year. You may donate online via our website or by check, payable to:
Paralyzed Veterans of America Buckeye Chapter (or Buckeye PVA) 2775 Bishop Rd Ste B Willoughby Hills OH 44092
You may also support us by advertising in our newsletter, the Buckeye Banner. The newsletter comes out quarterly and reaches about 1,200 of our supporters. Our list is continually growing. Advertising rates are in each issue. Advertising help us distribute our newsletter to our members and to VA locations around the state.
You can leave a legacy of support by including the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Buckeye Chapter in your estate plans. One of the easiest and most common way to do this is to include a gift to the Buckeye PVA in your will or living trust. This can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or the remainder of your estate. Sample language that you can give to your attorney: “I give [amount, percentage, or description of property] to Paralyzed Veterans of America, Buckeye Chapter, a nonprofit corporation with the Federal Tax ID #23-7193597, to be used for its general charitable purposes.”
People who are age 70 ½ or older can contribute up to $108,000 from their IRA per year directly to a charity and avoid paying income taxes on the distribution. This is known as a qualified charitable distribution. It is limited to IRAs, and there are other exclusions and considerations as well. Or, consider naming the chapter as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. You can also transfer ownership of a paid-up policy to our organization to receive an immediate tax deduction. Please consult with your tax advisor about any of these options.
2025 Organizational Donors
Michael & Judy Miller
James Milliken
Steven Minardi
Shirley Morgan
Robert Morris
Terry & Jerry Myers
David Norris
William Oblaczynski
Dennis Olivares
Mark & Eva Perkins
Eleanor Peterman
Emily Pierce
Melinda Powell
Brian Ridzy
John Robinson
William Rogers
Solutions, LLC - Adam Ausperk
Judith Rubinstein
Robert Ruff
Don Schiffbauer
Ellen Schwartz
George Smith
Karen Tuersley
Tom & Judy Tulisiak
Sedric Watkins
Debbie & Larry Zavodney
Commercial Consulting - Mark Holtz
Sharon Hammer
MacMurray
Marabito Fund
ACGRD (PVA Advocacy group)
A&H Trucking
Akron Rubber Ducks
American Legion Post #0091 - Berea
American Legion Post #0112 - Madison
American Legion Post #0134 - Circleville
American Legion Post #0144 - Columbus
American Legion Post #0407 - Doylestown
AMVETS Post #22 - Vermilion
Applebee’s Grill + Bar - Ashtabula
BMW of North Canton
BrightStar Care
Buckeye Nissan
Charity Navigator Giving Basket Donors
Chipotle
Cleveland Bakers Local No 19 CER
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Guardians Baseball
Cleveland Monsters
Col. Justice M. Chambers- Gunny’s League #555
Coloplast US Headquarters
Columbus Grove’s Annual June Jubilee
Combined Federal Campaign - Anonymous
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Covelli Enterprises
Dwight H. Perrin Fund
Edward Jones Investments: Greg Chaplin, Emmett Jacobson Charitable Gift
Fat Head’s Brewery
Firelands Veterans for the Preservation
Fraternal Order of Eagles #2282George Music Company
Health Aid of Ohio
iGive.com
John & Elizabeth Turner Foundation
KeyBank National Association
MobilityWorks
Munich RE America Services, LLC
Oak Ridge Farm
Ohio AMVETS Post 1965 - Norwalk
PayPal Giving Fund
Petitti Garden Centers
Play It Again Sports
Riveon Mental Health & Recovery
Ross Environmental Services
Save A Lot
Sgt Clean Car Wash
Best Kept Secret No More
In the many years I have served in nonprofit organizations, a way I have heard many organizations describe themselves is “Organization XYZ is the best kept secret!” So, a common refrain among nonprofits is that they are amazing and do great things, yet so few people know about them.
In the past year, the Buckeye Chapter worked hard to become less of a secret!
The organization introduced itself to nearly 600 veterans service organizations throughout the state. We are pretty sure that most of them had not previously heard of us. This has several benefits for us, first, spreading the word about who we are and what we do, so, for example Veterans with MS or ALS that may not have been aware of the services we provide, can learn about them and possibly access them. Second is that many of these organizations have responded favorably to our requests for financial support. This helps us directly to carry out our mission.
We attended numerous fairs and events throughout the state. Board members in our Cleveland, Dayton and Columbus locations and our BPVA staff got out to meet and greet the public at tables. We were at the Lake County Community College for the Stars and Strides 5K and Armed Forces Day; the Medina County Fair; Combined Federal Campaign events at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the Cleveland VA Medical Center; and at the Grove City Veterans Resources Fair among others.
We placed print advertisements in the Cleveland Browns Yearbook, Bass Angler magazine and the DD214 Chronicle. We received coverage in the Brunswick-Medina edition of Parish Neighbors.
Our Davison
Letter From Our Executive
Director Continued
We were guests twice on New Day Cleveland morning television show.
We continued to build our presence on social media and implemented a Google Nonprofit Ad grant to drive more traffic to our website.
No matter how good any of these sound, it is certain that these efforts are not a permanent fix in our gaining visibility. To maintain any gains we make, we have to do this and more and keep on doing it.
If you have ideas for the Chapter on places we can be or publication we can be featured in, please let us know! And spread the word in your circles. If we can support you in doing that, please let us know that, too. We are here to help!
Very Truly Yours,
Chapter Administration
Our Chapter Office is located at 2775 Bishop Road, Suite B, Willoughby Hills, OH 44092. The office is staffed by our Executive Director, and our Associate Executive Director. The day to day work of the staff is to fundraise, bring awareness of our chapter, and coordinate any events involving our chapter. The staff helps execute the board’s vision on projects and ideas to better our chapter and our members. The staff and the board work to ensure every member is taken care of the best they can. The board and staff meets via zoom on the 3rd Thursday of every month for Board of Directors meetings.
Betsey Kamm Executive Director
The Paralyzed Veterans of America, Buckeye
Chapter Membership, as of September 30, 2025 stands at a total of 456 to include 234 Service-Connected and 222 Non-Service-Connected members. With a concentration on recruiting, we
gained 29 new members and 4 members transferred from other Chapters. We unfortunately lost 27 members, had 2 members transfer to other Chapters and 18 removed through attrition.
The Buckeye PVA Chapter has Life memberships of Honorably Discharged Veterans with a Spinal Cord Injury, regardless of how or when the injury occurred. Life Membership entitles the individual to membership in the Paralyzed Veterans of America for the rest of his/her natural life. They are entitled, without charge, to continual receipt of the Paraplegia News and other Chapter publications through their Chapter of choice regardless of geographical location. The PVA also has an Associate membership where one can be recommended by a Chapter Board Member, for those without a spinal cord injury, but have a deep interest in the PVA to significantly contribute to our priorities.
Our membership is expanded through communication such as telephone, letters, chapter emails, bulletins and brochures as well as visitation in Veterans Administration Hospitals and Clinics in the Chapters area of responsibility.
Coordination with local Veteran Organizations for the Disabled is also a method to reach out and pursue new members. Where not only are our active members of the Buckeye Chapter spinal cord patients, we also have registered volunteers that assist in outreach programs to our Veterans at a VA Hospital or Nursing Home.
Our General Membership Meetings occur every quarter via zoom and in person at our Chapter’s VA Hospitals. Contact your local Board Member via email, phone or in writing for more information to participate in one of our many programs. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting or event.
Respectfully
Larry R. Bostic Jr. Vice-President/Membership Chair
In Memoriam
In Memory of
Kim Caswell
Jerry R Corn
William E Drake
James A Dunbar
Glenn H Grismere
Thomas E Habart
Jay S Hefferon
Larry D Kelly
Fred W Layfield
Robert J Lucas
David W Miller
Michael M Nicely
William L Nolte
David A North
Bryan A Page
Arsenio Rodriguez
Joe F Ryan
David L Shellabarger
Bernard C Smith
Paul A Sonye
Robert P Weber
Ralph E Wellendorf
Tyrone A Wilson
Isaac P Young
Richard E Barr
David J Beck
Geary J Burke
One of the many benefits of being a chapter of a national organization is the top-notch support for advocacy that Paralyzed Veterans of America can provide to its chapters. Each June, National PVA organizes a trip to Washington DC and provides chapter representatives with policy priorities to talk over with their respective legislators. This past June, two the Buckeye Chapter was able to send our Chair of Government Relations, Chapter President Milton Young. And thanks in part to a grant we received from the ACGRD, the advocacy group of PVA chapters, we were also able to send Vice President Larry Bostic.
Our office staff planned the schedule to get Milton and Larry into the offices of as many legislators as possible during their visit. In the end they were able to meet with staffers from the offices of Representative Troy Balderson; Representative Joyce Beatty; Representative Mike Turner; Representative Greg Landsman; Representative Shontel Brown; Representative Michael Rulli; and Representative Bob Latta.
The PVA policy priorities that were discussed included:
Protecting the VA’s specialized healthcare services
Increasing access to long-term services and supports for Veterans with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D)
Improving Veterans’ financial security
Enhancing access to health care services for Veterans with SCI/D and
Defending the freedoms of Veterans with disabilities.
Among the challenges within the VA system of care for people with SCI/D that PVA and the chapter representatives have addressed with their elected representatives were: addressing staffing vacancies and lack of available beds and increasing access to VA-direct care closer to home.
The Buckeye Chapter is grateful for the opportunity to have the support of National PVA in helping to move forward this important work.
Mark Your Calendar 2026
Buckeye Wheelchair Games
April 23-25, 2026
SPIRE Academy, Geneva, Ohio
PVA Bass Tournament Series Stop 6
May 29-31, 2026
Mosquito Lake State Park, Cortland, Ohio
15th Annual Buckeye PVA Golf Outing
Monday, September 14, 2026
Bunker Hill Golf Course, Medina, Ohio
Paralyzed Veterans of America Billiards Tournament
October 22-24, 2026
(novice clinic October 22)
Cushions Billiards & Lounge, Westerville, Ohio
Chapter Advocacy and Legislative Work
Advocacy is one of the best tools we have to make change happen. Our members and staff are very active about educating policymakers and others about issues that would impact veterans and others with disabilities.
In June of 2025, we had our President, Milton Young, and our Vice President, Larry Bostic, go to Washington D.C. to speak with members of the congressional delegation and staff during PVA’s Annual Advocacy Legislative Seminar. Our Chapter spoke up for veterans with disabilities and made sure their voice was heard.
As we enter a new fiscal year, we will continue to form strong relationships with Ohio congressional delegation to ensure we are giving a voice to those who need one. We will continue to focus on issues that impact our membership in our state as well.
Sports and Recreation
At the Buckeye chapter
of the PVA we use sports and recreation to keep veterans all throughout the state of Ohio active and on the move. We are able to give them a life as an athlete, which they may not have had before. We have many programs to help us do this. We have our individual sports program, ISPs. This program helps athletes attend sporting events in and out of the state of Ohio. They can get refunded up to $500 per event. This helps with travel or lodging. Ohio athletes attend events that range from billiards and racing to rugby, and softball. We also help to fund other team sports with veterans on the roster. We can encourage participation that way. Every year with the help of the Ohio Veterans Medical Centers, we host the Buckeye Wheelchair Games in Geneva, Ohio. The BWGs have paralytic events that range from weightlifting to disc golf.
This year, we are excited to introduce bass fishing to our members. With the help of national PVA, we will be hosting our first stop on the tour this year.
Our organization dedicates a lot of time and resources to have sports and recreation available for our veterans. We do this so that they can stay physically active and have opportunities to interact with others.
Respectfully,
Paul Mann, Sports Director
Communication
We have multiple ways we try to reach out and communicate with our members. We have our socials, our newsletter, emails, and phone calls as ways of keeping in touch.
Our newsletter goes out quarterly to all of our members and chapters. It gives updates to upcoming events, how past events went, stories from our
members, and just information we feel our members should know. We are always posting on our socials of events past and upcoming as well. By posting on socials and having our newsletter it lets our members know what events are out there for them and if they missed out this time, they can go to the event next year.
There is a committee in charge of birthday calls for all of our members. They get assigned a group and when it is that member’s birthday; they give them a call to wish them happy birthday and just to talk with them for a little bit. Our board members always report back how much they themselves enjoy talking to our members, but how much our members enjoy the calls as well.
In case our members aren’t in touch with our newsletter, and/or social media, we always send out mass emails just to make sure our members are informed. We want our members to feel connected to the chapter make sure they are getting all the news updates and events going on at Buckeye PVA. Please be sure to keep us up to date on any address or email changes and follow us on social media for the latest news.
