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 have started a campaign to help raise funds to continue 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. For more information on this special project and to donate, please click on the link below. 

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. 

4 Our Freedom 5K 2018

ParadeRest, Virginia, a local non-profit organization expressing gratitude to our military, their families, and veterans, will proudly host the 7th annual 4 Our Freedom 5K race at the University of Virginia Research Park on Saturday, June 2, 2018.  Over the past seven years, this race has become one of the largest foot races in the region, and has raised over $660,000 to benefit members of the military, veterans, and/or their families.

In 2018 the race will once again benefit local non-profits that support members of the military, veterans, and/or their families in our local community.  ParadeRest is currently accepting applications from organizations that meet the eligibility requirements, and desire this funding.  Applications are due by November 1, 2017.  Please see the attached document for more information, or contact Tom Freshwater at tfreshwater@paraderestva.org.

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

• Kristin Fioretti kristin@paraderestva.org
• Maihan Far Alam maihan@paraderestva.org
• Nathan Fogal nathan@paraderestva.org
• Stephen Thomson stephen@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
• Michael Kaminski
• 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.

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