Follow this link to all the latest news from the RAF Families Federation.
Read more
Follow this link to all the latest news from the RAF Families Federation.
Read moreAn RAF welfare charity today revealed it has helped more than 1,000 people access £1.5million in unclaimed benefits after identifying that a large number of veterans were not receiving what they were entitled to.
The RAF Benevolent Fund launched its Advice & Advocacy Service two years ago after research that the charity carried out indicated many of its beneficiaries were not receiving eligible state benefits, such as Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Universal Credit.
Read moreFollow this link to all the latest news from Forward Assist.
Read moreTulsidevi Danai holds up a battered medal bearing the likeness of King George VI. To her, it is the difference between life and death.
“This is my evidence for getting my Welfare Pension [from The Gurkha Welfare Trust],” she explains. Her husband, Rifleman Bakhansing Khatri, earned it for his service during the Second World War, fighting in the jungles of Burma.
“It was hard for them,” she says. “They didn’t have enough supplies. When he used to fill his water bottle in the jungle it was dirty and full of leeches. But they had no choice but to drink it.
Read moreForces in Mind Trust (FiMT) is delighted to award a grant of £153,272 to King’s College London (KCL), to conduct a study to explore the impact of life in the Armed Forces on relationships from the perspective of civilian spouses and partners, who have been victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) by their military counterparts.
The 18-month study aims to address the lack of evidence from the perspective of the spouse, and identify their attitudes to help-seeking and their perceptions of support available. This research is part of a larger study, seeking to establish prevalence and risk factors for DVA within the Armed Forces environment.
Read moreAccording to industry experts, bedroom and bed-space occupancy across the serviced accommodation sector (Resorts, hotels, cottages and B&Bs) has on average remained flat and ranges between 8 out of ten rooms to 7 in in ten rooms in the North of the country. From the data available in the EU occupation ranges from just three in ten to 7 in ten. There are clearly seasonal variations but minimising Dead Space is a challenge for all.
How to make the most of this spare capacity and make it profitable
A number of hotel and property owners, at home and overseas, are already donating their spare capacity to charity. The Military Charity Give Us Time assists Service families who are in need: the beneficiaries have suffered bereavement, physical injuries and mental illnesses, have challenging financial circumstances and/or separation due to deployment. The best way to employ your spare capacity is to donate it to charitable causes like Give Us Time.
Read moreA new initiative by the Aggie Weston’s Storybook Waves project has secured funding from the Annington Trust of over £40,000 for the next three years. Launching at the end of September 2017, the ‘Storybook Waves Book Club in a Box’ initiative seeks to relieve the anxiety of separation that families experience by connecting them through books and a nationwide network of Book Clubs.
Held in community houses at 21 base port areas, the Book Clubs will generally be hosted by Aggie Weston’s Pastoral Workers and will run monthly during term time. Aimed primarily at families of deployed personnel, The Book Clubs will seek to bring families together for fun-filled activity sessions based around the theme of a popular children’s book. While children play, parents can socialise and Pastoral Workers will be on hand to provide support and a listening ear to anyone struggling with the challenges that deployment can bring.
Read moreThe Royal Air Forces Association is looking for volunteer fundraising team leaders and fundraisers to help fund its welfare work in specific areas in the UK.
“Forces personnel and their families sacrifice a normal family life to keep the rest of us safe,” says Katharine Montgomery, Volunteer Manager at the Association. “And we believe that we owe them a debt of gratitude once they have served. We are a welfare charity that focuses on providing practical and emotional help for service personnel and their partners and dependents. We are setting up brand new fundraising teams – looking for people who are passionate about raising money to fund our welfare support for the veterans and serving men and women in the Royal Air Force.”
Read moreBrenda Hale, our Charity Ambassador, is now a published author! ‘’I Married a Soldier’ follows Brenda’s experience of losing her husband, Captain Mark Hale, whilst he was serving with 2 RIFLES in Afghanistan on the 13th August 2009.
Mark’s unit had been providing security for a meeting of local leaders in Sangin and searching a mosque for ammunition, when a soldier triggered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
Read moreFrom RAF Benson to RAF Wyton, the RAF Benevolent Fund has spent almost £50,000 in its second year of support for station families’ days.
The annual events are a much-loved date on the calendar when serving personnel are given the opportunity to share their working life with their loved ones. Families are able to relax and recuperate within their own community, without the pressure of operations, which is particularly important on stations where personnel are deployed short notice.
The RAF Benevolent Fund made grants to 34 stations, awarding a total of £47,000 to support the events.
Read more
Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here
