4 Our Freedom 5K 

This year, ParadeRest will proudly host the 8th annual 4 Our Freedom 5K race at the University of Virginia Research Park on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Over the past seven years, this race has become one of the largest foot races in the region, and has raised over $700,000 to benefit members of the military, veterans, and/or their families. 

In 2019 the race will once again benefit local non-profits that support members of the military, veterans, and/or their families in our local community.

We are currently accepting applications from organizations that meet the eligibility requirements, and desire this funding. Eligibility requirements and other information about the application process can be found by following the link below. 

In the Community 

ParadeRest is pleased to highlight two upcoming events this fall hosted by beneficiaries of our 2018 4 Our Freedom 5K, and made possible by grants from that race. Both events are free to the military community.  Please see the fliers below for details.

Nickel For Your Story: Vietnam

In the Media

The Daily Progress

"Saathoff is now working on a new oral history project focusing on Vietnam War veterans with the same goal as before with the help of Matthew Deegan, a teacher at Charlottesville High School, and Bruce Eades, a Vietnam veteran."

Read the full article by clicking here.

Newsradio wina

Charlottesville High School teacher Matt Deegan joined the show to discuss a unique history project connecting Vietnam Veterans with high school students.

CBS 19 News

"ParadeRest records interviews with military veterans and sends them to be archived at the Library of Congress for historians and students to study. They also give a copy to the veteran's family...ParadeRest began recording interviews with World War II veterans and is now focusing on Vietnam War veterans."

Read the full article by clicking here. 

Cville Tomorrow

"By embarking on this project -- called “A Nickel for your Story: Vietnam” -- ParadeRest seeks to provide veterans a way to capture their stories for posterity, to further bind families through a greater sense of their histories, and to engage University of Virginia and high school students in the process of historical storytelling."

Read the full article by clicking here. 

About Nickel for Your Story

A Nickel for your Story is an effort to record the stories of our nation's veterans, starting with those from World War II, to preserve these invaluable and increasingly rare accounts for future generations. This year, we are continuing our mission in collecting the stories of veterans from the Vietnam War era. By allowing these soldiers to tell their stories, we can give them the welcome home many never received.

Military veterans in Central Virginia interested in participating in ParadeRest’s project can call (434) 234-9795 or send an email to history.paraderestvirginia@gmail.com.

To read more about ParadeRest's efforts in preserving these invaluable stories, please check out our most recent features in the media by following the links above. 

Feature on Charlottesville Inside-Out

ParadeRest was recently featured on the local PBS program, “Charlottesville Inside-Out”. To watch the complete episode about our organization's activities and efforts, please click here or check out the video below. 

ParadeRest’s segment begins at 13:31.

To Our Sponsors

We would like to thank all of our wonderful sponsors who generously support our ticketing program. Through ticket donations from the UVA Athletic Office, The Paramount Theater,  Sprint Pavilion, John Paul Jones Arena, and others, ParadeRest is able to fulfill its mission of serving the Charlottesville community and its military personnel. Thank you. We could not do it without your help. 

About Us

Composed of veterans, non-veterans, and representatives of the University of Virginia and Charlottesville area community, the ParadeRest Board has donated its time since 2009 towards providing ways to engage military personnel and their families with the local community. Expressions of gratitude for our veterans have taken the form of donated tickets to entertainment and sporting events.

ParadeRest was launched with the assistance of the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross, the Blue Star Families of Central Virginia and the Research Strategies Network with the purpose of encouraging such expressions of our community’s gratitude, and to provide returning and soon-to-be-deployed service members, and their families during their deployments, with convenient online information and access to these invitations and opportunities. Because of its role in community resilience as well as oral history, and its relevance to Critical Incident Analysis, UVA’s Critical Incident Analysis Group (CIAG) also supports ParadeRest in its educational mission.

Our Team

Composed of veterans, non-veterans, and representatives of the University of Virginia and Charlottesville area community, the ParadeRest Board has donated its time since 2009 towards providing ways to engage military personnel and their families with the local community. The team expresses gratitude and recognition through donated tickets to UVA and community venues,  collecting histories from living veterans while honoring the fallen, and arranging and sponsoring events both cultural and athletic.  UVA students staff ParadeRest year-round providing constant support for ParadeRest members. ParadeRest salutes its volunteers, whose work is essential to our success. For example,  Jeff Boecker has donated thousands of hours in providing essential outreach and collection of  military narratives from soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guard members who have served during wartime.

Staff

• Maihan Far Alam maihan@paraderestva.org

Staff may be reached collectively by emailing tickets@paraderestva.org

To schedule a Nickel For Your Story interview, please email history@paraderestva.org

ParadeRest Board

• Doug Buntz

• Todd Goodale

• Ernest Harper

• Gregory Saathoff (Co-founder)

• Elsie Thompson (Co-founder)

• Rich DiMeglio

• Brad Whiteman

ParadeRest Coordinator

• Tom Freshwater

Mission

ParadeRest serves the military population of Central Virginia including active duty and retired military personnel and their families.  Our mission is to demonstrate the community’s tremendous gratitude for their service and sacrifice by recognizing and supporting the area’s ‘hidden military’ personnel and their loved ones who are not stationed near large bases.  Our objective is to develop and implement integrated outreach and support programs prior to their deployment, while they are away, and when they return home.

ParadeRest seeks to partner with other military support organizations, other community organizations, academic institutions, and local businesses to enhance the community’s gratitude for those presently serving, their families and veterans.

ParadeRest In The News!

Check Out What The Media Is Saying