WINTER UPDATE
How your support is making a difference.
The
£12,000
Nugent family received a grant of to fund home adaptions for Elsie.We stand at the forefront of support for the Army family, last year supporting 65,000 people in 48 countries around the world. As one of the largest funders in the sector, we award grants to individuals and families, and fund other charities and organisations that support soldiers, former soldiers, and their families. When we hear of a person or family in need, we aim to respond within 48 hours. We do not rely on government funding; instead, we depend on the generosity of our supporters to keep our essential grant-making programmes going.
We have awarded a £38,147 grant to Launchpad. Our donation will be used to meet the housing utility costs of around 46 homeless veterans living at Avondale House, which is Newcastle’s largest provider of accommodation for veterans. We are also funding the annual cost of a specialist caseworker devoted to helping vulnerable veterans with complex mental health and substance addiction problems, together with those recovering from broken family relationships or unable to find paid employment.
£38,147 TO LAUNCHPAD £87,500 TO THE POPPY FACTORY
ABF The Soldiers' Charity is proud to award a £87,500 grant to The Poppy Factory, towards the costs of the charity’s specialist employment service for veterans with complex mental and physical health conditions.
Our last grant to The Poppy Factory helped 245 Army veterans to find new jobs in a wide range of sectors; and regular monitoring by the charity showed that two thirds of its veterans reported progress with their health and wellbeing, and improved stability in areas such as finances, housing and relationships.
£133,827
TO CARE FOR VETERANS
We are pleased to have awarded Care for Veterans with a grant of £133,827 to help disabled Armed Forces veterans receive nursing, rehabilitation, and end of life care. Our grant will enable the charity to continue providing a wide range of services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social and well-being activities, speech and language therapy, chaplaincy, and personal care.
Lee was 24 when a back injury ended his Army career. With a little help from our charity, he now runs a successful commercial cleaning business, employing 46 members of staff. Lee joined the Royal Artillery in 2008, aged 17. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and again in 2012, serving a total of eight years. The back injury that ended his Army career devastated him, and he struggled to see a way ahead.
Eventually, Lee entered the Personal Recovery Unit in Catterick and was assigned a Personal Recovery Officer who helped to transform his outlook. With a wife and young child at home, Lee decided to use the skills he had developed in the Army to start his own carpet-cleaning business. ABF The Soldiers' Charity supported Lee with his new venture, helping fund training courses and to purchase specialist cleaning equipment. Several years on, Lee's business is thriving. He employs 46 members of staff and his business continues to expand. We are thrilled for Lee and his team that he has recently won the "Business of the Year - Scale-Up Award" at the prestigious Soldiering On Awards.
£30K TO STEP TOGETHER
We have recently awarded a grant of £30,000 to Step Together for its ‘Rehabilitation Through Volunteering’ programme. The programme’s project managers are all members of the Armed Forces community, and therefore are well placed to provide individualised and empathetic help to veterans in need of extra support.
Veterans who have been through the programme have reported improved self-belief, confidence and motivation; improved family relationships and/or social networks; and improved skills that have led to firm foundations for work placements, employment or further education.
£20K TO SERVICE DOGS UK
We are proud to have awarded £20,000 to Service Dogs UK, which is the only UK charity that provides the benefit of specially trained assistance dogs to veterans suffering with PTSD.
The dogs are trained to help with nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety and panic attacks; a veteran is partnered with a dog and taught how to look after them under the guidance of professional dog trainers. Our grant will help fund the costs of four Army veterans accessing the charity’s 2022 programme.
We have awarded a grant of £20,000 to Walking with the Wounded to help the charity support mentally and physically wounded Army veterans. Our grant will go towards Walking with the Wounded's 2022 Head Start Programme, which provides 1-2-1 therapy for ex-service men and women with mild to moderately severe mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety and PTSD. The programme operates across the UK and, as of December 2021, 76% of beneficiaries who had completed the therapy showed signs of recovery and meaningful improvement.
Denzil served as a Lance Corporal in the Anti-Tank Platoon, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment during the 1982 Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands. During the Battle of Mount Longdon, Denzil was hit by a mortar bomb and suffered serious injuries, losing his left leg.
It took Denzil years to recover from his serious injury and learn to walk again, and also adjust to civilian life after witnessing events that would stay with him forever. Being part of the South Atlantic Medal Association (1982), a charity that we fund and Denzil co-founded, has been a way for him to cherish the memories of all the servicemen who lost their lives in the Falklands Conflict.
One issue that prevented Denzil from being more independently mobile in everyday life was his driveway and path to his house, which became run down and ridden with potholes. In 2021, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity helped to fund the resurfacing of his driveway and making his front steps wheelchair friendly. As a result, Denzil has much better independent mobility and can more easily access his car.
