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Community Connection: How YOU can help paralyzed veterans and their families

Posted at 7:40 AM, Apr 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-06 14:10:04-04

With Spring in the air, it's time for Phoenix residents to be thinking about warmer temperatures and the other thing everyone loves about this time of year, cleaning. While not everyone is that excited about cleaning out the closets, this year they can be motivated by the fact that their used clothing and household items could be helping paralyzed veterans and their families in the local community.

The G.I.V.E. program (Goods Inspiring Veterans Everywhere) is run by the Arizona chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America which is based in Phoenix. The program offers free in-home pickup of gently used clothing and household items. Proceeds raised by those items help fund PVA initiatives such as adaptive sports programs that help paralyzed veterans exercise their competitive spirit (i.e. handcycling, wheelchair basketball, shooting sports, etc.), ensuring paralyzed veterans and their families get the benefits they have earned through service, spinal cord injury and disease research, and many more. 
 
In-home pickups of clothing and small household items are free all year through G.I.V.E. 

You can also donate your used vehicle through Wheels Helping Warriors where pickup is also free.

Paralyzed Veterans of America
(623) 915-6287        
www.pva.org/givegoods

Thomas Fjerstad

Mr. Fjerstad has a long history with Paralyzed Veterans of America. The Minnesota native incurred a spinal-cord injury in 1989 while on active duty in the U.S. Navy. He worked as an aviation electronics technician and flew aboard the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Fjerstad was one of a group of veterans that formed the Minnesota PVA chapter in 1993, and served as the chapter's first president. He served continuously on PVA's national board of directors for more than 20 years, including four years as a national vice president and two years as national senior vice president.

Parliamentary Law became a passion while he served as a PVA vice president leading to his accreditation as a Professional Registered Parliamentarian. Mr. Fjerstad came to the publication in 2014 to fill the role of deputy editor and has spent the past three years learning about publishing. He was confirmed as editor May 2017.

In his free time, Mr. Fjerstad enjoys handcycling, bowling and trapshooting.