Veterans who receive social care in Wales will now get the full value of their war disablement pensions thanks to a new £300,000 allocation by the Welsh Government. This follows a campaign by The Royal British Legion, which highlighted a discrepancy that saw certain awards to veterans injured in service reduced to cover some of their social care costs.
Read more1,250 Forces children and parents across the country to receive books and scrapbooks in the read, share, talk and stay connected initiative
A grant from The Royal British Legion of £32,465 has been awarded to Reading Force, the charity working to support Forces families nationwide and overseas to read together. With this grant the charity will launch the project in Legion branches, and reach many more Forces families and their extended family members, helping families to stay close and connected during tours of duty, training postings, and moves of home. The tri-service charity is dedicated to improving communication and keeping family members connected by encouraging them and supporting them to share stories and chat about them.
Read moreForces Friends, a volunteer-led visiting service created in partnership between The Royal British Legion and Age UK Notts won The Forces in Mind Trust’s (FiMT) ‘Working Together’ Award at the 2017 Soldering on Awards.
The Forces Friends team was handed the prestigious award during a ceremony at the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster, hosted by Angela Rippon and Cassidy Little, in recognition of their commitment and collaborative approach to supporting the Armed Forces community.
Read moreGCHQ and The Cheltenham Trust have joined forces to bring the giant ‘waterfall’ of over 9,000 handmade poppies, which helped to launch the Royal British Legion Gloucestershire County Poppy Appeal 2016, to Cheltenham Town Hall until April.
This also marks an exciting new venture for The Cheltenham Trust by using its five venues, including the Town Hall, to bring arts displays to unexpected places to support community projects. Located in the historic spa well area of the Town Hall where the spa waters were once pumped to the surface for its restorative properties, the poppies will stand from floor ceiling filled by the natural light of the stairwell.
Read moreWHEN you’ve been shot at by snipers in Gornji Vakuf at the height of the Bosnian war, running around a lake in the middle of the night will hold few fears for former Sergeant Major Mal Bellamy.
The 42-year-old has made the switch from serving his country to raising money for veterans under the banner of the Royal British Legion.
Not content with doing a pitch black sponsored run around Kielder Lake, Northumberland this Mothers’ Day, Mal has also signed up to be the Legion’s Poppy Appeal Organiser for 2017 in his home town of Appleby, Cumbria.
Read moreMembers of the Army Reserve in Lincoln helped raised £550 for charity last weekend (Sunday 5 February) thanks to a special match being held in aid of The Royal British Legion’s (RBL) Poppy Appeal.
10 reservists from 160 (Lincoln) Transport Squadron joined colleagues from the Army Reserve’s wider 158 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) to form a side to ‘go in to battle’ with the RBL’s Select 15 from Lincoln Rugby Union Football Club (RUFC) to take part in the match held at Longdales Park, Lincoln.
Read moreIsolation and loneliness issues amongst London’s Nepalese veteran community are to be targeted thanks to a grant from The Royal British Legion.
The £43,000 grant to the Community Empowerment and Support Initiatives (CESI)-UK project will benefit approximately 200 ex-British Gurkhas over the age of 60.
This year-long community support project aims to provide a customised support programme to address isolation and loneliness issues as well as the health and wellbeing needs of Nepalese people in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Read moreA grant of £29,489 from The Royal British Legion to Wiltshire charity, Carer Support Wiltshire (CSW) will provide support for unpaid carers in the Armed Forces and veteran communities. The money will fund the charity, Armed Forces Family Support Project and will focus on the early identification and recognition of carers with military connections and help to access services, funding and training.
CSW support worker, Catherine Duncan has a specialist understanding of the issues surrounding forces families and will be drawing on her experience as a military wife to identify and support those who are caring for a loved one. A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a family member or friend who cannot manage without their support. They might look after someone with a physical disability, long term health condition, mental health issue or a problem with substance misuse.
Read moreHaving become a self-confessed “Teletubby” on leaving the Navy, 50-year-old Craig is now the driving force behind the Royal British Legion Northern Cycle Ride.
In summer 2016, Craig with the help of some close friends (Neil, Mark, David and Kev) organised the first ever RBL Northern Ride, involving two routes (70 miles and 100 miles) with more than 70 participants – this year he’s hoping to have more than 100 cyclists pedalling the roads of northern Britain to raise money for veterans.
Read moreThe Royal British Legion’s Pop In centre in Lowestoft, Suffolk, were crowned winners of the Armed services award at the annual Stars of Suffolk awards in November.
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